Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Peter Thomas is expressing gratitude after he was sentenced to 18 months in his federal tax evasion case, because he could have gotten a lot more time.
Shortly after a judge in North Carolina handed down the sentence on Thursday, Dec. 19, Thomas posted a video statement on Instagram.
He thanked his attorney for doing an “incredible job,” and said both the prosecutor and judge in the case were “fair.”
“The outcome, I am grateful [for] and I am going to remain grateful,” Thomas said. “They’re allowing me to get some of my business affairs done before I have to turn myself in. It’s not as bad as what I’m looking at on social media, at all. Again, I’m thanking those people, because those people were beyond nice and those people were beyond fair.”
Related: Peter Thomas Expresses ‘Regret’ Amid Tax Troubles
Earlier on Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced Thomas’ sentence in a press release.
The former reality star learned his fate from a federal judge after pleading guilty to one count of failure to turn over “trust fund taxes” collected on the wages of employees working for his PT Media, LLC between 2017 and 2023.
After leaving reality TV behind, the entrepreneur ran restaurants in Charlotte, Miami, and Baltimore.
He was arrested and charged with failing to account for and pay the IRS trust fund taxes.
In court documents, prosecutors accused Thomas of a “flagrant violation” of his tax obligations, and said he schemed to “deprive the Federal Government of funds used to provide important retirement and disability benefits.”
The government said he collected millions of dollars in taxes from his employees’ wages. Instead of turning the funds over to the IRS, he used the money for “$2.5 million in cash withdrawals, $370,000 for travel… and more than $250,000 in retail purchases, including on high-end purchases at Neiman Marcus, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Givenchy.”
Thomas had faced a maximum sentence of five years in prison after he struck a plea deal with prosecutors on July 2, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said at the time.
Once he completes his 18-month sentence, he must pay the IRS $2,526,131.99 in restitution and spend two years on supervised release.
As his legal troubles mounted, Thomas released a video in June 2024 expressing “regret” for failing to settle up with the government.
In the video, which was reposted by The Neighborhood Talk Instagram account, he admitted breaking federal tax laws.
“I did 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,” he stated.
Thomas then offered advice to other small business owners. “If you’re starting out a business, make sure that you’re funded enough… make sure that you can cover those withholding taxes,” he said.
Thomas concluded by warning if “Uncle Sam is not getting their piece… it’s gonna come and it’s gonna bite you like it’s biting me now.”
Thomas was previously married to RHOA star Cynthia Bailey, and appeared alongside his then-wife on the Bravo series.
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