A 21-year-old former U.S. Army soldier has pleaded guilty to participating in a sophisticated cybercrime operation that targeted telecommunications companies through hacking, data theft, and extortion schemes.
Cameron John Wagenius, who was stationed in Texas during his military service, admitted to conspiring with others to breach protected computer networks and demand ransom payments from victim organizations.
Between April 2023 and December 18, 2024, Wagenius operated under the online alias “kiberphant0m” while conducting criminal activities during his active military duty.
The conspiracy involved at least 10 victim organizations, with perpetrators using specialized hacking tools including “SSH Brute” to obtain login credentials for protected computer networks.
The criminal network coordinated their activities through Telegram group chats, where they shared stolen credentials and planned unauthorized access to victim companies’ systems.
This systematic approach allowed the conspirators to efficiently target multiple telecommunications companies and other organizations.
After successfully stealing sensitive data, the criminal group employed both private and public extortion tactics.
They threatened to release stolen information on prominent cybercrime forums, including BreachForums and XSS.is, unless victims paid substantial ransoms.
The conspirators also actively monetized their criminal activities by selling stolen data for thousands of dollars through posts on these underground forums.
The stolen information was further exploited for additional fraudulent activities, including SIM-swapping operations.
In total, Wagenius and his co-conspirators attempted to extort at least $1 million from data owners, successfully selling portions of the stolen data to finance their ongoing criminal enterprise.
Wagenius pleaded guilty to multiple serious charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, extortion in relation to computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
His sentencing is scheduled for October 6, where he faces severe penalties including a maximum of 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, up to five years for computer fraud extortion, and a mandatory consecutive two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.
Additionally, Wagenius previously pleaded guilty in a separate case to two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information connected to this conspiracy, demonstrating the extensive nature of his criminal activities.
The case represents a collaborative effort between multiple law enforcement agencies.
The FBI and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service led the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, and the National Security Cyber Section. Private sector partners Flashpoint and Unit 221B also provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
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