Andrew "Mod Jed" Lakeman, a former Jagex developer, was sentenced to three years in prison (two suspended) after using developer tools to steal and sell Old School RuneScape items and gold, reportedly earning over $400,000. Jagex detected the thefts in 2018 after secretly tightening security, leading to Lakeman's dismissal and 2019 arrest. A recent legal ruling confirmed that digital assets like in-game gold can be the subject of theft lawsuits, underscoring how courts are adapting to virtual-economy crimes.
Ex-Jagex Dev Sentenced After Stealing $400K+ In Old School RuneScape Items
Credit: Jagex
Former Jagex developer Andrew "Mod Jed" Lakeman has been sentenced to three years in prison, with two years suspended, after a court found he abused developer tools to remove items and gold from Old School RuneScape player accounts and sold them online. Authorities say the scheme netted him more than $400,000.
Jagex first identified suspicious losses in 2018 and quietly strengthened the game's security to expose the culprit. Lakeman, a content developer hired in 2015, is reported to have used other employees' credentials to access the appeals and account-recovery systems and take valuables from player inventories. He was dismissed, referred to police and arrested in 2019.
Legal Fallout And Wider Implications
In 2022 Lakeman achieved a limited procedural victory via an unfair dismissal counter-complaint, but any financial award was reduced and he was not reinstated at Jagex. Earlier this year, Lord Justice Popplewell ruled that digital assets such as in-game gold can be the subject of theft lawsuits — a legal finding that helped enable both civil claims and criminal accountability for virtual-property crimes.
"Just because it's virtual, doesn't mean he shouldn't face the full force of the law," Detective Constable Andrew McKeane said in a statement for the Cambridge Constabulary.
The case underscores how legal systems are adapting to criminal activity in online worlds as virtual economies grow. It also serves as a warning about the real-world consequences of abusing privileged access in live service games.
Jagex Today: Despite the scandal, Old School RuneScape's community and events continue to expand. Jagex staged its biggest live event to date — the Deadman All Stars esports tournament in Chicago this June — and OSRS now boasts a player base larger than original RuneScape did at its peak.
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