Cybercrime · Sunday, September 27, 2026
Former U.S. soldier sentenced to 70 months for telecom hacking and extortion
The File desk · Sep 27, 2026, 10:10 AM UTC
Status
Confirmed (DOJ Office of Public Affairs, Sept. 25, 2026)
On Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, a former Army soldier, Cameron John Wagenius, 22, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution for a conspiracy that hacked phone-company databases, stole records, and threatened to publish them unless paid. Prosecutors said the group tried to squeeze victims for more than $1 million, and that in November 2024 Wagenius posted stolen call-detail records tied to a government official and relatives of another former official.
On Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, a former Army soldier, Cameron John Wagenius, 22, was sentenced to 70 months in prison.
The court ordered him to pay $294,978 in restitution.
Prosecutors said the conspiracy hacked phone-company databases, stole records, and threatened to publish them unless the victims paid.
They said the group tried to squeeze victims for more than $1 million.
In November 2024, the department said, Wagenius posted stolen call-detail records tied to a government official and to relatives of another former official.
What is still unknown or disputed
- Victim telecom company names are not listed in the release.
Primary sources
Every claim in this story is drawn from the documents below. If a fetch failed, that is recorded on the card.
Source 1
Former U.S. Soldier Sentenced for Hacking and Extortion Scheme That Exposed Sensitive Data of U.S. Government Official
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs · September 25, 2026
Sentenced today to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution. The group attempted to extort at least $1 million from victim data owners.
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-us-soldier-sentenced-hacking-and-extortion-scheme-exposed-sensitive-data-us