Composer for worst Tomb Raider games jailed over COVID-19 loan fraud
- Reference: 1753096748
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/07/21/tomb_raider_composer_jailed/
- Source link:
[1]Youtube Video
As well as contributions to Tomb Raider III (1998), Connelly is best known for his work on The Last Revelation (1999), the fourth installment in the series, and its follow-ups, Chronicles (2000) and Angel of Darkness (2003).
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The latter two are widely thought to be the worst Tomb Raider games (to play – we offer no comment on the music), after which publisher Eidos stripped the property from developer Core Design, Connelly's employer at the time.
[3]
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The 52-year-old had the grand vision of orchestrally reimagining the soundtracks to the games he had scored some 15 years later, which he believed to be potentially lucrative. In fact, according to the UK Insolvency Service, he said in interviews that he had taken out personal loans and sold his car to get the project over the line.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, he sought financial help, securing a Bounce Back Loan of £22,000 ($29,000) in May that year. Just one month later, however, he applied for another Bounce Back Loan through a different bank, this time securing a further £37,500 ($50,500) on claims that his company, Peter Connelly Limited, had a 2019 turnover of £150,000 ($200,000). Businesses were only entitled to a single loan.
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Subsequent analysis discovered that the actual turnover was more like £58,000 ($78,000), "meaning he substantially inflated it on his second application," [6]the Insolvency Service said . The Durham-based composer also falsely claimed that the second loan was the only one he took out, said the Insolvency Service.
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[11]Peter Connelly Limited went into liquidation in August 2021 without either loan being repaid, and Connelly himself entered an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) in June 2022 to make regular payments to an insolvency practitioner to repay his debts, it added.
David Snasdell, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: "Peter Connelly blatantly disregarded the rules of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, designed to support small and medium-sized businesses during the pandemic.
"Connelly not only secured two loans when businesses were only allowed one, but deliberately inflated his company's turnover to receive more money than he was entitled to.
"The Insolvency Service is the lead agency for tackling Bounce Back Loan misconduct and we remain committed to ensuring fraudsters who stole from the public purse during a national emergency are brought to justice."
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Tomb Raider would later be rebooted under Square Enix in 2013, bringing the series back up to snuff and culminating with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018. ®
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[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6pPw6U4lno
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aH5kCUrjnRwg106sHRmNrQAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aH5kCUrjnRwg106sHRmNrQAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aH5kCUrjnRwg106sHRmNrQAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aH5kCUrjnRwg106sHRmNrQAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tomb-raider-video-game-composer-jailed-for-covid-loan-fraud
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/18/apple_sues_youtuber_ios_leak/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/15/solider_hacking_guilty/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/15/us_puts_it_consultancy_to/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/13/fake_it_worker_problem/
[11] https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/06618880
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/bootnotes&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aH5kCUrjnRwg106sHRmNrQAAAMA&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
typical, the real bad ones got away
so they have prosecuted some small fry.
still waiting for all the tory fuckers and fiends to get jailed for the multi-million (in a lot of cases £100mil+) fraud.
if he got 16 months for around £60,000, those fuckers should be getting 100years+
Re: typical, the real bad ones got away
It's actually inversely proportional: The higher the fraud, the smaller the punishment.
(Especially for politicians)
As usual
The richer you are, the more banks fall over themselves to loan you more.
I would be interested to know why he got a the same sentence that you get for killing somebody.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn86n761jjeo
Or are the courts saying that a human life is only worth £60k?
First thing
Intention.
Fraudster intentionally committed fraud. The driver didn't intentionally kill her.
Financial.
Unless you've lived under a rock, if you rob a bank, you'll get a bigger sentence than if you rob an individual.
Appeal.
There is a possibility the fraudster could appeal and get it reduced. It's unlikely to get increased. There is a possibility the driver could get reviewed and increased as unduly lenient.
Is it fair? No.
Have you complained to your MP?
"The driver didn't intentionally kill her."
He intentional drove in a dangerously manner, knowing that it could kill somebody.
Why are we wasting prison spaces on financial criminals at all when we are having to let rapists and murders go free.
So you are saying financial crime should not be prosecuted?
Do you have any personal interests in that?
Spazturtle didn't say that, why are you asking if they did?
I clearly did not say that.
What I said is that if there are a limited number of prison spaces then they should be used to store the most dangerous and damaging criminals, and find some other punishment for the other criminals.
Re:- other punishment
Like having to walk along the South West Coastal Path and then being forced to write a book about it?
Mine’s the one with “Salt Path” in the pocket.
I've actually got some of his work in my play lists. (Not the one you link.) I've also got the very original theme ripped from the CD. As well as some of the Troels Brun Folman ones from the Square Enix.
So let me get this straight
1. There was no central database to check whether he had an exiting loan
2. The loans were granted based on a claim of over stated earnings without checking last audited accounts.
3. The responsibility for distributing public funds was given to banks.
Please correct me if I have miunderstood but while I don't condone financial crime in any way, there are some serious questions to be answered by the "victims" of this.
Well :
1. There was no central database to check whether he had an exiting loan : that's called administrative overhead - the less you have, the better right ? England prevails and all that.
2. The loans were granted based on a claim of over stated earnings without checking last audited accounts : It was difficult times. The Government did the best it could. God Save The Queen.
3. The responsibility for distributing public funds was given to banks : okay, but seriously, who should have shouldered that responsibility ? Hospitals ?
I agree that the whole management of COVID-19 was a vastly overinflated mess, but the small fry are getting fried now.
The big fish will, of course, continue par for the course and get away scot-free.
TR 4-6 can't bad after all
The TR 4-6 remaster has just come out. If it being good enough to remaster was a comment on the quality of later TRs I couldn't say.