ATLANTA — Peter Thomas, the ex-husband of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Cynthia Bailey, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after the IRS said he didn’t pay taxes on several nightclubs he owns in Charlotte, Miami, and Baltimore.
Thomas took a plea deal in July and was sentenced Thursday.
According to court documents, Thomas collected more than $640,000 in trust fund taxes from the wages of their employees between 2017-2022, but never turned it over to the IRS.
Records show Thomas did the same thing with his bars in Miami Beach and Baltimore, collecting $1.1 million between 2021-2023.
“Thomas used the trust fund taxes for other purposes, including more than $2.5 million in cash withdrawals, $370,000 for travel, real estate purchases, and more than $250,000 in retail purchases, including on high-end purchases at Neiman Marcus, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy. Thomas also caused more than $2.9 million to be transferred between the Charlotte businesses, Bar One Miami Beach, LLC, and Bar One Baltimore, LLC,” a news release from the Department of Justice said.
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A federal judge in North Carolina order Thomas to pay $2,526,131.99 in restitution on top of the 18 months in prison. Once release, he will also have to serve two years of supervised release.
After his plea, Thomas took to social media to apologize for what he had done.
“I’ve done some wrong that I have to make right. I have to stand up, I have to be accountable, I have to be responsible, and I have to pay my debt,” Thomas said.
This is not the first time Thomas has found himself in legal trouble.
In 2019, Thomas was arrested for writing fraudulent checks.
Thomas’ attorney said the incident was “an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
The year before, prosecutors dismissed an assault charge against him.
Thomas will report to prison once the Bureau of Prisons decides on what facility to send him to.
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