Peter Thomas Sentenced To 18 Months In Federal Prison for Failure To Pay $2.5 Million In Employment Taxes

Peter Thomas, the former Real Housewives of Atlanta star and restaurateur, has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to failing to pay over $2.5 million in employment taxes. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Thomas admitted to one count of failure to pay trust fund taxes.

According to reports from the Baltimore Banner, between 2017 and 2023, Thomas was responsible for failing to remit federal employment taxes from several of his businesses, including Club One CLT, Sports ONE, Sports ONE CLT, PT Media, Bar One Miami Beach, and Bar One Baltimore. These businesses withheld more than $1.7 million in taxes from employees’ paychecks but failed to send the funds to the government.

Federal prosecutors outlined that Thomas used the tax money to enrich himself and fund his business ventures. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley argued for a sentence of at least two years, claiming that Thomas had acted out of greed and had continued to violate the law despite numerous opportunities to correct his actions. “He used these funds to personally enrich himself and support his other business ventures,” Finley stated. She also pointed to his extravagant spending, revealing that Thomas spent more than $250,000 on luxury purchases, including items from Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy.

In addition to the prison sentence, Thomas was ordered to serve two years of supervised release following his incarceration and to pay restitution to cover the unpaid taxes.