‘Real Housewives’ star’s ex-husband sentenced to more than a year in prison, owed $2.5 million
Peter Thomas, the ex-husband of “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Cynthia Bailey, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after the IRS said he failed to pay taxes on several nightclubs he owned in Charlotte, Miami and Baltimore. .
Thomas reached a plea deal in July and was sentenced Thursday.
According to court documents, Thomas collected more than $640,000 in trust fund taxes from employees’ paychecks between 2017 and 2022 but never turned it over to the IRS.
Thomas did the same thing at bars in Miami Beach and Baltimore, collecting $1.1 million between 2021 and 2023, records show.
“Thomas used trust fund taxes for other purposes, including cash withdrawals of more than $2.5 million, travel, real estate purchases of more than $370,000, and retail purchases of more than $250,000, including high-end purchases at Neiman Marcus, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. Thomas also caused the transfer of more than $2.9 million between the Charlotte company, Bar One Miami Beach LLC and Bar One Baltimore LLC, the Justice Department news release said.
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A federal judge in North Carolina ordered Thomas to pay $2,526,131.99 in restitution in addition to 18 months in prison. Once released, he must also serve two years of supervised release.
After pleading guilty, Thomas took to social media to apologize for what he had done.
“I did something wrong and I have to make it right. I have to stand up, I have to take responsibility, I have to take responsibility, I have to pay my debt,” Thomas said.
This isn’t the first time Thomas has been in legal trouble.
In 2019, Thomas was arrested for writing fraudulent checks.
Thomas’ lawyer said the incident was “an unfortunate misunderstanding”.
Prosecutors dismissed assault charges against him a year ago.
Once the Bureau of Prisons decides which prison to send Thomas to, he will report to the prison.
