Key Highlights:
- Peter Connelly, former Tomb Raider composer, jailed for 16 months for Covid loan fraud.
- Illegally secured a second Bounce Back Loan by inflating his company’s turnover.
- Disqualified from serving as a director for six years; his company later went into liquidation.
Peter Connelly, the video game composer recognised for scoring several entries in the Tomb Raider series, has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for fraudulently obtaining government-backed financial aid during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 52-year-old, of Peterlee, Durham, England, overstated his company’s 2019 turnover to secure a second Bounce Back Loan of £37,500 – despite already having received the maximum allowable amount through a £22,000 loan in May 2020.
The Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) was introduced to support small businesses during the pandemic, and limited recipients to a single loan each.
An investigation by the Insolvency Service revealed that Connelly had falsely declared a turnover of £150,000 in his second application when actual records showed earnings of just over £58,000. He also failed to disclose his previous loan and misrepresented the uniqueness of his new claim.
Connelly submitted his first application for Peter Connelly Limited – his sound design and music publishing business, in May 2020. This initial £22,000 loan was legitimate.
However, in June, he applied for a second loan via another bank, inflating revenue figures to qualify for a larger sum.
According to David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, Connelly had “blatantly disregarded” the BBLS rules and manipulated the system to extract public funds fraudulently. The Insolvency Service has since led efforts to recover misused Covid relief funding and pursue offenders through the courts.
As a result of the ruling on July 17th at Durham Crown Court, Connelly has also been disqualified from serving as a company director for six years.
Connelly is best known in the gaming industry for his contributions to the Tomb Raider franchise, having served as lead composer on Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness. All of which were recently released in the modernised Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered collection.
Prior to the fraud, he was reportedly involved in a reimagining of the series’ soundtrack, work which he described as potentially lucrative.
However, the project stalled as the pandemic disrupted the entertainment and creative industries. Connelly stated during interviews that he had resorted to selling his car and taking out personal loans to sustain operations.
Despite these claims, neither of the Bounce Back Loans were repaid, and Peter Connelly Limited entered liquidation in August 2021.
The composer later entered into an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in June 2022, a legally binding agreement requiring him to make regular repayments to an insolvency practitioner to settle outstanding debts.
Connelly pleaded guilty to dishonestly making false representations to gain a financial advantage and has now begun serving his custodial sentence.
The case marks another example of how fraud under emergency pandemic measures is still under active scrutiny, and how public support funds are being retroactively policed to ensure integrity and accountability.