A verdict has been reached in Peter Thomas’ tax fraud case.

On Thursday, December 18th, the former Real Housewives of Atlanta Star, 64, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud, according to The Neighborhood Talk.

Following his conviction, Thomas, Cynthia Bailey’s ex-husband, will serve two years of supervised release and pay $2.5 million in restitution.

PEOPLE has reached out to Thomas’ attorney for comment.

Thomas’ sentencing comes after The Baltimore Banner reported Dec. 10 that a federal prosecutor’s memo on his case sought to justify a prison sentence.

Thomas, owner of the Bar One restaurant, was accused of not paying employment taxes on his businesses and instead paying nearly $375,000 on travel and ride-hailing services and $250,000 on luxury goods from Neiman Marcus, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and having spent more.

“Thomas’ blatant violation of his federal payroll tax obligations over many years resulted in his companies and himself being unjustly enriched to the tune of more than $2.5 million and depriving the federal government of resources needed to provide critical pensions – and disability benefits were used to employees,” the memo states.

The verdict, according to media reports, said the entrepreneur was “motivated by greed,” adding: “Thomas defied tax laws, expanded his business, hired more employees, increased overhead costs and expanded business locations at the expense of his legal obligations opened.” ”

Over the summer, Thomas also pleaded guilty to failing to pay trust fund taxes after he was accused of evading taxes for several of his companies between 2017 and 2023.

A day before his sentencing, the former reality star shared a message about his decision to plead guilty in a video shared on Instagram.

“I will appear in the federal courthouse here in Charlotte, North Carolina to face the music,” he told his supporters. “The music of…consistently withholding taxes for (my) businesses (for) over 10 years.”

“I thought it was something I could fix by getting on this payment plan and paying it off. But that’s not how it works,” he added.

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In his caption, Thomas urged other small business owners to learn from his mistakes.

“Public announcement, most people are confused when it comes to paying withholding taxes. I’m here to set the record straight: yes you will go to jail, (yes) you still have to pay the taxes,” he wrote. “Furthermore, prison does not mean that taxes will be forgiven. All young business owners, please learn for my mistake.”