Another day, another lawsuit for Peter Thomas of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Thomas, the estranged husband of Cynthia Bailey, is facing another legal battle. ?This time, it’s regarding his Charlotte-based nightclub.
Details below…
According to WBTV-Charlotte, a lawsuit has been filed against the reality TV star by an Atlanta investor who says he was swindled out of money he invested in Peter’s Charlotte-based nightclub.
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Mecklenburg County Court.
In the suit, Tony Taylor, an Atlanta-based investor, says Thomas convinced him to invest more than $150,000 into the Charlotte nightclub, but hasn’t seen the deal come to fruition.
According to the lawsuit, Clyde told Taylor that Peter Thomas planned to open another nightclub in Charlotte called Club One and was looking for business partners.
Two days later, Taylor says he came back to the bar and met with Peter Thomas. He was offered a 30 percent ownership in the club for an?investment of $300,000. (source)
In the lawsuit, Taylor says Thomas promised he’d invested between $2 to $3 million of his own money into the new club. He also reportedly said he’d “arranged with producers of the Bravo network series ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ to have multiple segments of different episodes of the television show filmed at Club One.”
Thomas also alleged he was getting a spin-off show called “What’s Peter Doing Now” that would focus specifically on his nightclubs and investments in the Charlotte-area, which would eliminate the need for marketing and advertising.
In the court filing, Thomas reportedly promised Taylor would take an “active role in management from time to time as Thomas was required to travel extensively.”
The pair met again several weeks ahead of the CIAA Tournament in Charlotte – this time at Club 1, according to the lawsuit.
Thomas paid back the loan, plus $10,000, and an additional $4,000 for the bar sales.
Taylor says Thomas contacted him several times over the next month about investing in Club One and on March 30, he and Peter?met with Thomas’ lawyer to discuss a $150,000 investment for a 15 percent ownership.
Taylor says he?was also promised regular updates and could access the books “any time you want.”
According to the lawsuit, Taylor paid the money through wire transfers and bank deposits over the next 60 days.
When he didn’t receive a return on his investment, Taylor filed a lawsuit for fraud, stating?he has “nothing evidencing an ownership or equity interest in Club One” and is now suing to get it back.
Taylor is?suing for fraudulent inducement, securities fraud, unjust enrichment, constructive fraud, obtaining property by false pretense and violation of punitive damages.?He’s requesting his money back plus a jury trial.
Fun fact: It’s not the first time Peter has been sued by one of his investors. ?The husband of new ‘housewife’ Lena Chenier?(R.L. of the R&B group Next) filed a similar lawsuit in Georgia over Peter’s Bar One establishment. ?However, the amount in that case was much lower ($10,000). ?I suspect we’ll see a lot of their issues aired out during RHOA season 9.