Ex-Peregrine exec gets two years

A former Peregrine Systems Inc. controller was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the fraud that destroyed the software company once valued at $4.72 billion.

Berdj Rassam, 42, pleaded guilty in February 2007 to one count of securities fraud. He faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Prosecutors had sought a sentence of three years, five months. Rassam’s lawyer asked for a sentence of probation with no time in jail.

Prosecutors charged 18 people in a multimillion-dollar accounting scam to falsely inflate profit and boost Peregrine’s stock that sent the San Diego company into bankruptcy in 2002. Twelve pleaded guilty, including former Chief Executive Stephen Gardner.