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Exclusive Details‘RHOA’ Star Cynthia Bailey’s Ex-Husband Peter Thomas Facing 5 Years in Prison Over Unpaid Taxes
Former Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey’s ex-husband Peter Thomas is facing time behind bars after being accused of failing to pay taxes related to his businesses, In Touch has learned.
According to court documents obtained by In Touch, prosecutors claimed Thomas failed to pay taxes from the wages of his employees.
Thomas was the owner of Club One in Charlotte, North Carolina. He previously owned several other bars, and lounges in Florida and Maryland, including Bar One Miami Beach and Bar One Baltimore.
In 2023, the landlord sued Thomas and his businesses over alleged unpaid rent and other fees. Thomas was ordered to pay $9 million to the landlord for Bar One after being evicted from the premises earlier this year. In the recent filing, the government said, between 2017 to 2022, Thomas collected more than $640,000 in trust fund taxes from the wages of his employees, but he did not pay over these to the Internal Revenue Service.
“In addition, between 2021 and 2023, Thomas caused Bar One Miami Beach LLC and Bar One Baltimore to collect more than $1.1 million in trust fund taxes from the wages of their employees, but Thomas did not pay over these taxes to the IRS,” the filing read which was first reported by All About The Tea.
The prosecutors claimed that “in total, between 2017 and 2023, Thomas caused [his various businesses] to fail to pay over more than $2.5 million in employment taxes, including more than $1,740,000 in trust fund taxes from the wages of” employees.
The government said “instead of paying the trust fund taxes that were due” Thomas used the money for other purposes. They said he used the funds for “cash withdrawals, travel, real estate purchases, and retail purchases. In addition, prosecutors said Thomas failed to pay taxes for certain businesses he owned. Thomas was hit with one count of “failure to pay trust fund taxes.”
The businessman could face up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. The court docket shows a plea agreement was submitted to the court, but it was placed under seal. Earlier this week, Thomas revealed his legal troubles on social media.
He posted a video of him addressing the matter.
Bailey’s ex-husband started off by apologizing to his parents, his kids, friends and family. “I’ve done some wrong that I have to make right. I have to stand up, I have to be accountable, I have to be responsible, and I have to pay my debt,” Thomas said.
Thomas said the IRS launched a case two years ago and looked into his records for the past 10 years. He said the IRS accused him of failing to pay certain taxes. Thomas said he thought he could work it out but “the hole got deeper.” He said he had deep regrets and that he had “no excuses, because there is none, that’s the law.”
The criminal case is pending. The judge has yet to approve of the plea deal submitted in court.
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