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An experienced game developer stole “gaming wealth” from RuneScape and sold it for more than £300,000 on the black market. Andrew Lakeman, 32, formerly Jed Sanderson, began working as a content developer for Cambridge -based gaming giant Jagex in November 2015. The company is best known for the RuneScape series of games. In May 2018, Jagex’s player support team noticed suspicious account recovery activity with valuable in-game items, including gold, being taken. The activity stopped briefly and was thought to be a glitch, but it happened again later that year. The company realised the perpetrator was likely to be someone who worked for the company, as accounts were being recovered using information non-employees would not be likely to know. Jagex launched an internal investigation, which included creating a curfew for account recovery and modifying the firewall. They made these changes without the wider company knowing. The sting operation worked and the Jagex IT department identified Lakeman’s devices and home address as the source of the activity. Lakeman was dismissed by the company and it was handed over to Report Fraud, before Cambridgeshire Police took on the case in 2019. Further investigations discovered Lakeman had sold the virtual gold and valuable in-game items he had gained through dishonest means on the black market. He made more than £364,829 in cash, which came from crypto currency dealers. It also showed messages to his wife that said he intended to make a lot of money before leaving Jagex. He discussed high value RuneScape accounts worth tens of thousands of pounds. Lakeman was finally arrested in July 2019 and charged with: unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences; theft by employee; conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property; and acquire criminal property. Lakeman, of Harbour Road, Beadnell, Chathill, Northumberland, later pleaded guilty to his offences. He was handed a three-year sentence, suspended for two years at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday (September 3). He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement. A proceeds of crime act timetable, due to conclude in February next year, aims to recoup the money Lakeman earned from the thefts. Detective Constable Andrew McKeane, who investigated, said: “This was an incredibly complex and detailed investigation and certainly not one you see every day. 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. “I would like to thank my team for their hard work and diligence during what has been an unusual and lengthy investigation. It is also important to recognise the significant assistance of senior Crown Prosecutor, Samantha Woolley, and Prosecution Counsel, Sarah Gaunt, for their drive and determination, which led to groundbreaking case law that was heard at the Court of Appeal. “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.”
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