Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Peter Thomas has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud.
On Thursday, December 18, the 64-year-old entrepreneur and ex-husband of Cynthia Bailey was also ordered to undergo two years of supervised release and pay $2.5 million in restitution.
Thomas, owner of the Bar One restaurant chain, was accused of failing to pay employment taxes for his businesses. Instead, he allegedly diverted nearly $375,000 toward travel and luxury goods, including purchases at Neiman Marcus, Prada, and Louis Vuitton.
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A federal prosecutor’s memo described Thomas’s actions as a “flagrant violation” of payroll tax obligations, citing his misappropriation of over $2.5 million. The memo alleged that his “greed” led him to expand his business ventures at the expense of his legal tax obligations.
Thomas also pleaded guilty to failing to pay trust fund taxes between 2017 and 2023, according to People’s report.
Ahead of his sentencing, Thomas took to Instagram to acknowledge his mistakes, urging small business owners to take tax laws seriously.
“I thought I could rectify it by getting on a payment plan, but it doesn’t work like that,” he said in a video. In his caption, he issued a warning: “Yes, you will go to jail, and yes, you still have to pay the taxes. Learn from my mistake.”
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