A hacker who used his role as a content developer at a Cambridgeshire company to steal more than £300,000 worth of "game wealth" has avoided prison.
Andrew Lakeman, 32, formerly Jed Sanderson and known in gaming circles as “Mod Jed”, joined British gaming giant Jagex in November 2015.
Cambridge-based Jagex is best known for its RuneScape 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 so the team initially put it down to a glitch in the system, but it began happening again later that year.
They realised the perpetrator was likely to be someone who worked for the company, as accounts were being recovered using information genuine owners would be unlikely to know.
Jagex began its own internal investigation, which included creating a curfew for account recovery and modifying the firewall.
It made these changes without informing the wider company so as not to alert the virtual thief.
The sting worked and the Jagex IT department were able to identify Lakeman’s devices and home address as the source of the illicit activity.
Jagex later sacked Lakeman and passed the investigation to Report Fraud, which referred it to Cambridgeshire Police in 2019.
Officers found that Lakeman had sold the virtual gold and other valuable in-game items on the black market.
Searches of his devices and accounts showed he had received more than £364,829 from cryptocurrency dealers.
Messages to his wife showed he planned to make a fortune before leaving Jagex.
He also discussed RuneScape accounts worth tens of thousands of pounds.
Lakeman was 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 the offences and was handed a three-year sentence suspended for two years at Cambridge Crown Court yesterday (3 September).
He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Additionally, 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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