A former Old School Runescape developer who was fired by Jagex in 2018 after it came to light that he was stealing in-game gold and items from OSRS players has now been handed a three-year suspended sentence. Cambridgeshire Police report that Andrew Lakeman, who was previously known as Jed Sanderson and referred to among the Runescape community as simply ‘Mod Jed,’ had used his position within the company to steal in-game items in the MMORPG from other players and sell them via the “black market.” In total, it states that Lakeman had “banked more than £364,829 (approximately $490,000) in cash, which came from crypto currency dealers.”
Suspicions around Mod Jed’s actions initially began to surface in May 2018 when the Old School Runescape support team “noticed suspicious account recovery activity with valuable in-game items, including gold, being taken.” This then stopped happening for several months, but resumed later in the year. The team eventually concluded that the perpetrator must have been an employee, due to accounts being recovered “using information genuine owners would be unlikely to know.”
After an internal investigation that took place “without informing the wider company,” Mod Jed’s devices and home address were pinpointed as the source. The company publicly confirmed in September 2018 that a member of its OSRS team “was dismissed from employment at Jagex following gross misuse of moderator privileges,” although did not name the culprit directly. It confirmed that no players’ bank or card deals had been compromised, and took steps “to return items and GP to any affected accounts,” given the extreme nature of the incident.
The investigation into Mod Jed was handed to Cambridgeshire Police in 2019, which determined he had “used his position as a content developer to access high-value customer accounts and steal their ‘game wealth,’ which he sold for more than £300,000 (~$407,000) on the black market.” Device searches also “showed messages to his wife detailing how he intended to make a lot of money before leaving Jagex, and he discussed high-value Runescape accounts worth tens of thousands of pounds.”
Following subsequent legal proceedings, Cambridgeshire Police now reports that the former employee “pleaded guilty to the offences and was handed a three-year sentence suspended for two years at Cambridge Crown Court” on Thursday, September 3, 2026. As part of this, Lakeman has also been “ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement.” Additionally, it notes that “a proceeds of crime act timetable, due to conclude in February next year, aims to recoup the money Lakeman earned from the thefts.”
One of the investigators, Detective Constable Andrew McKeane, said of the case, “Lakeman was well aware what he was doing was wrong, and the hundreds of thousands of pounds he gained from selling the in-game items is no different to any other theft. Just because it’s virtual, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t face the full force of the law.” McKeane adds, “Given the rapid growth of online and virtual worlds, the justice system is going to have to keep pace and adapt to these new and emerging crimes.”
I have reached out to Jagex for comment, and will update this story with any response.