Michael Vergato, 52, has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for his involvement in a scheme that defrauded a Colorado-based data management company of nearly $2 million. Mark Perlstein, 60, was also sentenced in the case, receiving a 25-month prison term and a $15,000 fine.
Perlstein pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June 2025. Vergato was convicted on six counts of wire fraud after a six-day trial in May 2025. Both men have been ordered to pay restitution totaling $1,949,023 and will serve three years of supervised release following their incarceration.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, from 2013 to 2020 Vergato served as vice president at Arrow Electronics. He oversaw performance tuning for the company’s Oracle EBS databases. During this period, he and Perlstein created a shell company called Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization, LLC (OPTO), which posed as a legitimate contractor. OPTO submitted fraudulent contracts and invoices for services never performed. Perlstein approved these invoices as CEO and wired payments to OPTO.
The fraudulent activity resulted in almost $2 million being funneled into OPTO. The two men split the proceeds while hiding their involvement through personal email accounts, other corporate entities, and false identities. Vergato used his stepdaughter’s identity when conducting business for OPTO. Testimony from the current CEO of the data management company indicated there was no evidence any work had been done by OPTO or that it had actual employees or contractors; tax records showed no salaries paid or contractor forms issued.
Vergato retained about $874,000 from the scheme for personal expenses such as luxury vehicles and rent; Perlstein received over $1 million.
“These defendants’ greed has earned each of them years in federal prison, and they have to pay back every dollar they took,” said United States Attorney Peter McNeilly. “Corporate fraud of this magnitude undermines confidence in our business community and harms employees, customers, and shareholders alike. These sentences send a clear message: executives who abuse their authority for personal gain will be held accountable.”
“These two individuals plotted to defraud their companies of nearly $2 million, falsifying work that was never requested nor performed,” said FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek. “They lined their own pockets until their fraudulent scheme was uncovered, and now they will pay the consequences.”
United States District Judge Nina Y. Wang presided over sentencing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation with prosecution led by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Cassidy, Bradley Giles, and Bob Brown.
Case Number: 1:23-cr-00302-NYW
