Reality TV star Peter Thomas sentenced to 18 months in prison over Charlotte restaurant tax case

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Restauranteur Peter Thomas will spend up to 18 months in prison over unpaid trust fund taxes earned from his businesses, including CLUB ONE in Charlotte, a judge ruled on Thursday.

Thomas, ex-husband of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey, pleaded guilty in July after his Charlotte businesses failed to pay $640,000 in trust fund taxes from employee wages to the IRS due and owing on behalf of the employees of his business, PT Media, LLC, for the quarter ending June 30, 2021. 

Another $1.1 million in trust fund taxes from businesses in Miami and Baltimore owned by Thomas went unpaid between 2021 and 2023.

RELATED: Peter Thomas, former Real Housewives of Atlanta star, accused of not paying trust fund taxes in Charlotte

Instead of paying the trust fund taxes that were due on behalf of the Charlotte businesses, 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, according to court records. 

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.

Thomas will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

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