Ex-Soldier Gets 70 Months for AT&T and Verizon Extortion
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Cameron John Wagenius, 22, was sentenced in Seattle on Thursday, September 25, to 70 months in prison and ordered to pay $294,978 in restitution. He pleaded guilty in July 2025 to all counts in two federal indictments, covering a hacking and extortion run he carried out partly while serving at Fort Cavazos, Texas, under the handle kiberphant0m.
Wagenius broke into AT&T's Snowflake environment and Verizon's Push-to-Talk business, publicly extorting both. Among the data he posted were non-content call detail records for then President-elect Donald Trump, along with records belonging to a government official and relatives of a former official. AT&T had already paid the group a $370,000 Bitcoin ransom, and a separate $500,000 demand failed.
Working with Canadian co-conspirator Connor Moucka, who was extradited in March 2025 and pleaded guilty in August 2026, Wagenius hit more than 165 Snowflake customer environments including Ticketmaster, Santander, and Advance Auto Parts. The three men took over $2.5 million in extortion payments between them. The third, John Erin Binns, is not in US custody.
Source: CyberScoop