Peter Connelly, who Tomb Raider fans will recognize as the original composer and sound designer for the series, is now serving 16 months in jail, beginning yesterday, July 17, 2025, for "fraudulently obtaining" a $50,000 (£37,500) loan from the UK government during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Published on the UK government's official website through the Insolvency Service, and spotted by Eurogamer, Connelly was found to have received two loans for his business when businesses were only allowed to receive one. The first was a legitimate loan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020 for £22,000, or $29,500 USD. The second was a month later, for £37,500, or $50,000 USD. Connelly "deliberately inflated" the turnover his company faced in order to secure a larger loan, said David Snasdell, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service.
Connelly claimed that the turnover his company endured amounted to £150,000, though in reality it was a little over £58,000. When being interviewed regarding the loan, he told the Insolvency Service that he "had been given the opportunity to re-imagine the music for the Tomb Raider soundtrack," a project he told them would be very lucrative and significant. He claimed to have taken measures like selling his car to pay for the work, though he later claimed the project had stalled. In August 2021, his company went into liquidation, with neither of the loans he'd taken out having been paid back.
Connelly will be paying back the loans over the course of several payments that will continue while he serves his jail time, and he's also been banned from being the director of a company for the next six years.
"Peter Connelly blatantly disregarded the rules of the Bounce Back Loan Scheme, designed to support small and medium-sized businesses during the pandemic," Snasdell said. "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."
Connelly isn't the first notable member of the video game industry to be found guilty of financial crimes. Yuji Naka, the co-creator of Sonic, whose last major release was Balan Wonderworld, was arrested and given a suspended prison sentence for insider trading.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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