Peter Connelly, the video game composer and sound designer on the Tomb Raider Remaster series and Tomb Raider: Chronicles, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for fraudulently applying for a government COVID-19 support loan. Based in Peterlee, County Durham, Connelly obtained a second Bounce Back Loan (BBL) of £37,500 (approximately $55,000) in June 2020 by greatly overstating his company’s turnover. This was in direct violation of the loan rules, which only permitted one loan per business. He had already secured a legitimate loan of £22,000 the previous month.
According to the UK Insovlency Service, Connelly claimed his company had a 2019 turnover of £150,000 when, in reality, it had earned just over £58,000. Additionally, he falsely claimed that he had not previously applied for a BBL. His actions led to a criminal investigation by the Insolvency Service, the body responsible for monitoring misuse of the COVID loans.
At a hearing this week, Connelly was sentenced not only to prison but also disqualified from serving as a company director for six years. The Insolvency Service emphasized the seriousness of his fraud, noting that this sort of loan was created to support struggling small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, not to be exploited for personal gain. Chief Investigator David Snasdell condemned Connelly’s “blatant disregard” for the rules.
In his defense, Connelly stated that he had undertaken financial risks to work on a high-profile project involving the reimagining of the Tomb Raider soundtrack. He claimed to have sold his car and taken out personal loans in anticipation of the project’s success, which he also claimed was sidelined by the pandemic. However, the court ruled that his financial mismanagement did not excuse committing fraud.
His company, Peter Connelly Limited, entered liquidation in August 2021, with neither of the two loans repaid. In June 2022, Connelly entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), agreeing to repay his debts through regular payments to an insolvency agency.
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