Two former technology executives have been sentenced in a fraud case involving nearly $2 million after a series of legal proceedings in Colorado. Michael Vergato, 52, received a 46-month prison sentence and a $20,000 fine, while his counterpart, Mark Perlstein, 60, was sentenced to 25 months and fined $15,000. In addition to their prison time, they will both face three years of supervised release post-incarceration, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The duo was convicted in a scheme where they defrauded their employer, Arrow Electronics, by billing for services that were never provided. A shell company, Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization, LLC (OPTO), was at the center of their operation. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, 21 fraudulent invoices funneled company funds into personal bank accounts. Vergato, who was a vice president at the time, and Perlstein, the CEO of a secondary company involved, managed to split the proceeds, which were used to fund extravagances such as luxury vehicles and credit card payments.
While Perlstein admitted to his part in the scheme, pleading guilty to wire fraud back in June 2025, Vergato faced a full trial. In May, he was found guilty on six counts of wire fraud after a six-day trial. Their elaborate plan involved the use of personal email accounts, fictitious corporate entities, and even fake identities, with Vergato employing his stepdaughter’s identity to conduct OPTO's business, maintaining the façade of legitimate operations.
The overall impact of their actions reverberated beyond their personal gains, striking at the integrity of corporate conduct. “These defendants' greed has earned each of them years in federal prison, and they have to pay back every dollar they took,” United States Attorney Peter McNeilly stated, as per the U.S. Department of Justice. Tax records showed no salaries or contractor forms issued by OPTO. The fraud was only unearthed after meticulous investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which dissolved the illusion and laid bare the deceit. Both men are jointly liable for the restitution of $1,949,023.
