Tomb Raider Composer Jailed Over COVID-19 Fraud

Tomb Raider video game composer Peter Connelly has been sentenced to jail for COVID-19 loan fraud, the British government has announced. The Tomb Raider series was officially cited in the circumstances leading up to his conviction.

Peter Connelly, not to be confused with the long-time Microsoft Game Studios executive of the same name, is a British composer with over 60 video game credits spanning four decades. He worked on half a dozen games starring Lara Croft, ranging from the 1998 Tomb Raider 3 to the 2025 Tomb Raider 4–6 Remastered.

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During a July 17 hearing at Durham Crown Court, Connelly was sentenced to a 16-month jail sentence for COVID-19 loan fraud. His case centered on the UK's Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), introduced to support small businesses throughout the 2020 pandemic, which caused many economic activities to grind to a halt. Under the British government's rules, each business was entitled to take out one loan based on legitimate revenue figures. However, Connelly submitted multiple applications, one of which was fraudulent in more than one way, as per the government's press release outlining the outcome of his case.

Peter Connelly's Video Game Credits

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Game

Year

Platform(s)

Credit(s)

Tomb Raider 4–6 Remastered

2025

Windows

Music & Sound FX

Tomb Raider 1–3 Remastered

2024

Windows

Additional Sound Effects

Dead Island 2

2023

Windows

Audio Director

Project Cars 3

2020

Windows

Special Thanks

Fast & Furious: Crossroads

2020

Windows

Special Thanks

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

2017

Windows

Sound Design

Champions of Anteria

2016

Windows

Additional Sound Design & Cutscene Mixing

Blackguards 2

2015

Windows

Music Production

The Crew

2014

Windows

Additional Audio Design, Radio Jingle Composition

Watch_Dogs

2014

Windows

Audio Design

1954: Alcatraz

2014

Windows

Sound Effects

Driver: San Francisco

2011

Windows

Audio Design

Horrid Henry: Missions of Mischief

2009

Nintendo DS

Music & Sound (via Universal Sound Design Ltd)

Speed Zone

2009

Wii

Music, Speech, Sound Effects

PopStar Guitar

2008

PlayStation 2

Sound Effects (via Universal Sound Design Ltd)

Emergency Heroes

2008

Wii

Additional Orchestration

Hot Wheels: Beat That!

2007

PlayStation 2

Audio Management

Free Running

2007

PlayStation 2

Special Thanks

Cartoon Network Racing

2006

PlayStation 2

Audio Management, Sound Design

D.I.R.T.: Origin of the Species

2006

Windows

Music

The Fast and the Furious

2006

PlayStation 2

Sound Management

Hummer: Badlands

2006

PlayStation 2

Sound Effects

MTV Pimp My Ride

2006

PlayStation 2

Audio Management, Sound Design

Smart Bomb

2005

PSP

Music

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Angel of Darkness

2003

PlayStation 2

Cutscene and FMV Audio

Herdy Gerdy

2002

PlayStation 2

Music and Sound Effects

Tomb Raider: Chronicles

2000

Dreamcast

Music

Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation

1999

PlayStation / 2000 Dreamcast

Music & Sound FX

Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft

1998

PlayStation

Additional Sound Effects

Flesh Feast

1998

Windows

Sound

Mass Destruction

1997

PlayStation

Sound and Music

In May 2020, Connelly secured a £22,000 BBLS loan. A month later, he applied again with a different bank, securing a £37,500 loan based on a declared company turnover of £150,000. In August 2021, his company—Peter Connelly Ltd.—went into liquidation, with neither loan being repaid at the time. Not only did he falsely declare his second application was the only BBLS loan he sought at the time, but the Insolvency Service found that the £150,000 turnover figure was false, determining his actual 2019 revenue was just above £58,000.

Connelly told the Insolvency Service that he had been given the opportunity to re-imagine the music for the Tomb Raider soundtrack. This was a significant project which had the potential to be very lucrative, he added.

"Connelly told the Insolvency Service that he had been given the opportunity to re-imagine the music for the Tomb Raider soundtrack," the agency said in a prepared statement. "This was a significant project which had the potential to be very lucrative, he added." Based on the timing of these events, Connelly was presumably referring to the two Tomb Raider remaster collections, the first of which was announced in 2023 and released a year later. The composer told investigators that the funds were intended to support the project while it stalled due to the pandemic, adding that he had already taken out some personal loans and even sold his car to stay afloat at the time.

In June 2022, Connelly entered into an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) with the government, committing to repay his debts through regular payments. Apart from a 16-month jail sentence, the 52-year-old composer was also banned from serving as a company director for six years as part of the July 17 court decision. His conviction underlines ongoing efforts by British authorities to prosecute abuse of emergency pandemic relief programs.

Source: MobyGames