A U.S. Army soldier has been arrested and charged for allegedly selling stolen confidential phone records, according to court documents unsealed on Dec. 30.
Cameron John Wagenius was arrested on Dec. 19, according to the documents. He is accused of “knowingly and intentionally” selling, transferring, and attempting to sell and transfer “confidential phone records information of a covered entity, without prior authorization from the customer to whom such confidential phone records information related, and knowing and having reason to know such information was obtained fraudulently,” while in Washington state.
Wagenius was arrested in Texas, but his case has since been transferred to Washington state. He does not have an attorney listed on the court docket.
A spokesperson for the III Armored Corps, based out of Fort Cavazos, formerly Fort Hood, confirmed that Wagenius is an Army soldier.
“We are aware of the arrest of a Fort Cavazos soldier,” Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, the spokesperson, said in an email. “III Armored Corps will continue to cooperate with all law enforcement agencies as appropriate.”
Sztalkoper referred further questions to the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, which said it could not immediately provide details.
During a short court hearing on Dec. 20, Wagenius said he understood his rights and the charges against him and that he is mentally competent, according to a summary released by the court. He waived his right to a detention hearing in Waco, paving the way for a transfer to Washington state, where the federal prosecutors handling the case are based.
The same prosecutors are handling the prosecution of Connor Moucka and John Binns, who are accused of crimes linked to a string of data breaches involving “billions of sensitive customer service records,” including call records, Social Security numbers, and other personal information, according to an Oct. 10 indictment.
Moucka, 25, was arrested on Oct. 30 at his home in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and faces extradition to the United States.
Canada’s Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Moucka’s status. Binns is currently in jail in connection with accusations surrounding a separate hack in Turkey, where he was living.
Allison Nixon, chief research officer at cybersecurity company Unit 221B, said she and an anonymous colleague identified Wagenius’s true identity after Moucka’s hacking group threatened them “for no reason.” Wagenius was a member of that group, she said.
“Law enforcement’s turnaround time afterward was the fastest I have witnessed in my entire career,” Nixon said. “It was incredible to watch.”
Neither the Department of Justice nor the FBI responded to requests for comment by publication time.
