Peter Connelly, the online game composer and sound designer on the Tomb Raider Remaster sequence and Tomb Raider: Chronicles, has been sentenced to 16 months in jail for fraudulently making use of for a authorities COVID-19 assist mortgage. Based mostly in Peterlee, County Durham, Connelly obtained a second Bounce Again Mortgage (BBL) of £37,500 (roughly $55,000) in June 2020 by drastically overstating his firm’s turnover. This was in direct violation of the mortgage guidelines, which solely permitted one mortgage per enterprise. He had already secured a official mortgage of £22,000 the earlier month.
In response to the UK Insovlency Service, Connelly claimed his firm had a 2019 turnover of £150,000 when, in actuality, it had earned simply over £58,000. Moreover, he falsely claimed that he had not beforehand utilized for a BBL. His actions led to a prison investigation by the Insolvency Service, the physique answerable for monitoring misuse of the COVID loans.
At a listening to this week, Connelly was sentenced not solely to jail but additionally disqualified from serving as an organization director for six years. The Insolvency Service emphasised the seriousness of his fraud, noting that this kind of mortgage was created to assist struggling small companies through the COVID-19 pandemic, to not be exploited for private achieve. Chief Investigator David Snasdell condemned Connelly’s “blatant disregard” for the foundations.
In his protection, Connelly acknowledged that he had undertaken monetary dangers to work on a high-profile venture involving the reimagining of the Tomb Raider soundtrack. He claimed to have offered his automotive and brought out private loans in anticipation of the venture’s success, which he additionally claimed was sidelined by the pandemic. Nonetheless, the court docket dominated that his monetary mismanagement didn’t excuse committing fraud.
His firm, Peter Connelly Restricted, entered liquidation in August 2021, with neither of the 2 loans repaid. In June 2022, Connelly entered into an Particular person Voluntary Association (IVA), agreeing to repay his money owed via common funds to an insolvency company.