Anotһer 'RHOA' Alum Iѕ Goіng to Jаіl

Former The Real Housewives of Atlanta star and restauranteur Peter Thomas has been sentenced to serve 18 months in a federal prison for failing to pay $2.5 million in employment taxes. Additionally, he was ordered to spend two years on supervised release and pay restitution. The ex-husband of reality star Cynthia Bailey pleaded guilty in June to one count of failure to pay over trust fund taxes.

As reported by The Baltimore Banner and via the Instagram account The Neighborhood Talk, federal prosecutors alleged that Thomas caused Club One CLT, Sports ONE, Sports ONE CLT, PT Media, Bar One Miami Beach, and Bar One Baltimore to fail to pay employment taxes, which included more than $1.7 million taken directly from the paycheck of his employees. On the series, Thomas had been seen building up his various businesses throughout Atlanta and Charlotte.

Peter Thomas Offers a Warning

During the trial, Assistant US Attorney Caryn Finley asked for a minimum sentence of two years in prison, arguing that Thomas was "motivated by greed and continued to flaunt the law." She alleged that he used the money to "personally enrich himself and to expand and support his other business ventures." Those purchases included spending at businesses such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy. Peter Thomas' attorney asked for a smaller prison sentence, stating that her client is "incredibly remorseful for his failure to pay trust fund taxes.”

The former Bravolebrity took to social media ahead of the sentencing stating he was "ready to face the music." Despite the 50th anniversary of his arrival in the United States, he shared that he wanted to settle the matter through a payment plan but learned that "it doesn't work like that." He took the time on his video to heed a warning to others. Thomas said, “Pay your payroll before you pay your rent, because the landlord can evict you, you ain’t gonna go to jail though. But you will go to jail for not paying your payroll taxes with the United States government.”