Former Arrow executive, contractor sentenced in nearly $2M fraud
Two individuals, a former vice president at Arrow Electronics and the CEO of a contractor, have been sentenced to federal prison for defrauding Arrow Electronics of nearly $2 million. Michael Vergato, 52, was sentenced to 46 months in prison, while Mark Perlstein, 60, received a 25-month sentence and a $15,000 fine.
Vergato was convicted on six counts of wire fraud after a trial in May, while Perlstein pleaded guilty to wire fraud in June. The scheme involved billing Arrow Electronics for performance tuning services that were never performed, resulting in $1.94 million being funneled to Perlstein’s company, Oracle Performance Tuning and Optimization (OPTO).
The fraudulent scheme involved 21 fake contracts and invoices submitted to Arrow, with Vergato using a shell company to conceal his involvement. Perlstein approved the invoices and received over $1 million from the scheme, while Vergato kept approximately $874,000 for personal expenses.
The investigation was led by the FBI, and U.S. Attorney Peter McNeilly emphasized the importance of holding executives who abuse their authority for personal gain accountable. The sentencing was presided over by U.S. District Judge Nina Y. Wang, with assistant U.S. attorneys Nicole Cassidy, Bradley Giles, and Bob Brown handling the prosecution.
For more business news, sign up for the Economy Now newsletter. To receive daily Colorado news, subscribe to the Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.
