Peter Anthony Thomas, Tax Evasion, North Carolina 2024

Charlotte Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Tax Evasion

Peter Anthony Thomas, 63, a former Charlotte resident now living in Miami, Florida, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for a tax offense. Thomas was also ordered to pay $2,526,131.99 as restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

According to a statement from U.S. Attorney Dena J. King, Thomas pleaded guilty on July 2, 2024, to failing to account for and pay over to the trust fund taxes due and owing on behalf of the employees of PT Media, LLC for the quarter ending June 30, 2021.

Thomas was the owner of several businesses, including Club One CLT, LLC, Sports ONE, Inc., Sports ONE CLT LLC, and PT Media, LLC, which operated as sports-themed bar/restaurant/lounges in Charlotte. He also owned several other bars, restaurants, and lounges in Florida and Maryland.

Between 2017 and 2022, Thomas caused the Charlotte businesses to collect more than $640,000 in trust fund taxes from the wages of their employees, but Thomas did not pay over these taxes to the IRS. In addition, between 2021 and 2023, Thomas caused Bar One Miami Beach LLC and Bar One Baltimore LLC 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.

Court documents show that 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.

Thomas will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. IRS-Criminal Investigation investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Frick of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/charlotte-businessman-sentenced-prison-tax-offense