The Sherman Act prohibits (a) contracts, combinations, or conspiracies in restraint of interstate commerce or foreign trade (15 U.S.C. § 1), and (b) monopolization, attempts to monopolize, or combinations or conspiracies to monopolize interstate commerce or foreign trade (15 U.S.C. § 2), among other things.

While a violation of this Act may be prosecuted as a felony, in general, the Department reserves criminal prosecution under Section 1 for “per se” unlawful restraints of trade among competitors, e.g., price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation agreements. It may also bring, and has brought, criminal charges under Section 2.

Criminal violations of this Act carry a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Criminal violations of this Act carry a maximum fine of the greatest of (a) twice the gross pecuniary gain derived from the crime, (b) twice the gross pecuniary loss caused to the victims by the crime, or (c) for defendant corporations: $100 million, and for individuals: $1,000,000.

[updated April 2022]