December 21st 2024.
Former star of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Peter Thomas, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud. According to reports from The Neighborhood Talk, a reporter at the federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina announced the verdict and Thomas' sentence. Along with prison time, Thomas has also been ordered to pay $2.5 million in restitution fees and will undergo two years of supervised release.
After the sentence was announced, Thomas, who was previously married to RHOA star Cynthia Bailey, was seen speaking with the reporter who asked for clarification on the verdict. This comes just one day after Thomas took to Instagram to warn other young business owners, stating, "All young business owners, please learn from my mistake."
In a video message, Thomas admitted that he would be appearing in the United States government federal courthouse in Charlotte, North Carolina to face the consequences of his actions. He explained that he had consistently failed to pay taxes for his businesses for over ten years, thinking that he could rectify the issue by getting on a payment plan and making payments. However, he soon realized that it wasn't that simple.
The charges against Thomas stem from his failure to pay employment taxes for his businesses. Instead, he used the money for personal expenses, including almost $375,000 on travel and ride-sharing services and $250,000 on luxury goods from well-known brands like Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy.
According to a memo from a federal prosecutor, Thomas' actions were a "flagrant violation" of his federal payroll tax obligations and resulted in him and his companies being unjustly enriched by over $2.5 million. This not only deprived his employees of important retirement and disability benefits but also took away funds that could have been used for other government programs.
The memo also stated that Thomas was "motivated by greed" and that he deliberately defied tax laws in order to expand his business, hire more employees, and increase his own personal wealth. This came at the expense of fulfilling his legal obligations.
The 18-month sentence was the result of Thomas pleading guilty to failing to pay trust fund taxes. He had been accused of tax evasion for several of his businesses between 2017 and 2023. This news follows reports of Thomas' ex-wife Cynthia Bailey leaving RHOA and Thomas' fellow cast member Nene Leakes returning to NBCUniversal for an Emmy after party.
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