His mother Rebecca Cabrera told the CNN broadcaster that the company had sent him to fight alongside the Ukrainian forces and paid him for that.
"He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to contain it there so it didn't come here, and that maybe our American soldiers wouldn't have to be involved in it," Cabrera told CNN.
Cancel flew to Poland on March 12 and soon crossed into Ukraine. According to Cabrera, he was fighting in Ukraine along with people fro different countries.
Mercenaries from various countries are arriving in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian military operation in the country.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that about 7,000 mercenaries from more than 60 countries have arrived in Ukraine since the beginning of the special operation. According to the MFA, among them there are citizens of Poland, the USA, Canada, the UK, Romania, Georgia.