Former Executives Sentenced in $1.9 Million Fraud Scheme

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Michael Vergato, 52, has been sentenced to 46 months in federal prison and fined $20,000 for his role in a scheme that defrauded a Colorado-based data management company of nearly $2 million. His co-defendant, Mark Perlstein, 60, received a 25-month prison sentence and a $15,000 fine.

Perlstein pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June 2025, while Vergato was convicted on six counts of wire fraud following a six-day trial in May 2025. The court ordered restitution of $1,949,023, for which both men are jointly liable. After their prison terms, Vergato and Perlstein will each serve three years of supervised release.

According to Perlstein’s plea agreement, and evidence presented at the trial of Vergato, from 2013 to 2020, Vergato served as a vice president at Arrow Electronics, where he oversaw performance tuning of the company’s Oracle EBS databases, including work performed by Perlstein’s company. Vergato and Perlstein devised a scheme to bill the data management company for performance tuning services purportedly to be completed by a shell company created by Vergato, Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization, LLC (“OPTO”). Posing as a legitimate contractor, OPTO submitted 21 fraudulent contracts and invoices to the data management company for database performance tuning services that were never performed. Perlstein, in his position as CEO, approved the invoices and wired payments to OPTO.

The scheme funneled nearly $2 million in company funds into OPTO. Perlstein and Vergato divided the proceeds, concealing their involvement by using personal email accounts, other corporate entities, and fake identities. To conceal his role, Vergato used his stepdaughter’s identity to conduct business on behalf of OPTO. At trial, the data management company’s current CEO testified that the company could not substantiate any work performed by OPTO or identify any actual employees or contractors related to that entity. Tax records confirmed OPTO paid no salaries and issued no contractor forms.

In total, the data management company paid OPTO $1,949,023. Of that amount, Vergato retained approximately $874,000, using the funds for luxury vehicles, credit card payments, retirement accounts, and rent. Perlstein personally received more than $1 million through the scheme.

“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 the sentencing. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Cassidy, Bradley Giles, and Bob Brown.

Case Number: 1:23-cr-00302-NYW