Peter Connelly, a composer and sound designer greatest identified for his work on the Tomb Raider collection, has been jailed for “fraudulently acquiring” a mortgage from the UK authorities through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a press release from the UK’s Insolvency Service, Durham-based Connelly was stated to have obtained a authentic $29,500 (£22,000) authorities “Bounce Again” mortgage, after which once more a month later for $50,000 (£37,500) at a distinct financial institution, despite the fact that companies had been solely entitled to at least one such mortgage. Connelly was additionally discovered to have “intentionally inflated” his firm’s monetary place through the first few months of the pandemic in 2020, reporting a turnover of $201,500 (£150,00) in 2019 when it was, in truth, $77,900 (£58,00).
In interviews with the Insolvency Service, Connelly said that he had been given the chance to reimagine the music for the Tomb Raider soundtrack, describing it as a “vital venture which had the potential to be very profitable.” He reportedly took out private loans and bought his automobile to finance the work, however that “stalled” initially of the pandemic. By August 2021, Connelly’s firm, Peter Connelly Restricted, had gone into liquidation.
At a Durham courtroom yesterday, July 17, the composer was sentenced to 16 months in jail and disqualified as an organization director for six years.
“Peter Connelly blatantly disregarded the principles of the Bounce Again Mortgage Scheme, designed to assist small and medium-sized companies through the pandemic,” stated David Snasdell, chief investigator on the Insolvency Service, the group chargeable for tackling Bounce Again Mortgage misconduct.
“Connelly not solely secured two loans when companies had been solely allowed one, however intentionally inflated his firm’s turnover to obtain more cash than he was entitled to.”
Whereas at authentic Tomb Raider developer Core Design, Connelly labored in sound design on Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft and later as a number one composer for Tomb Raider: The Final Revelation and Tomb Raider: Chronicles. 2003’s Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, which Connelly co-wrote with Martin Iveson, featured the London Symphony Orchestra.
After Core, Connelly went on to work on the likes of 2011’s Driver: San Francisco at Ubisoft Reflections, Watch Canine, The Crew, South Park: The Fractured However Entire, and, most just lately, 2023’s Useless Island 2.
Picture credit score: YouTube / Peter Connelly.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, in addition to a critic, columnist, and marketing consultant with 15+ years expertise working with a few of the world’s greatest gaming websites and publications. She’s additionally a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually Excessive Chaos. Discover her at BlueSky.