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# Federal Antitrust Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-antitrust-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:08:29.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:08:29.000Z
- Description: Of 12 people sentenced for antitrust offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2022, 7 (58%) received a prison term and 5 (42%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6 months. A fine was ordered for 67%.
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) › Antitrust: Eastern District of California

**In brief:** Of 12 people sentenced for antitrust offenses in the Eastern District of California in fiscal years 2016 to 2022, 7 (58%) received a prison term and 5 (42%) received probation only. The median prison term was 6 months. A fine was ordered for 67%.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Probation Only for 5 of 12

The offense type "Antitrust" is a U.S. Sentencing Commission category. All 12 cases used the same primary guideline, §2R1.1 (Bid-Rigging, Price-Fixing or Market-Allocation Agreements Among Competitors).

Prison went to 7 of the 12 people (58%), and probation only, with no prison or other confinement, went to 5 (42%). In all 94 districts, 44% of antitrust sentences included prison, so prison was more common here.

## Short Prison Terms

The median prison term was 6 months, the same as the median for antitrust in all districts. A quarter of those sent to prison received 5 months or less, and a quarter received 9 months or more. The median for all offenses in this district was 48 months.

After a guilty plea the median was 5 months. After a trial it was 8 months, based on 2 people. These are sentences imposed, not time served.

## Sentences Below the Guideline Range

The guideline range is calculated for each case under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Only 8% (1) of the 12 were sentenced within the range. In all districts, 14% were within the range.

A below-range sentence at the government's request applied to 67% (8), and one without a government request applied to 25% (3). No one was above the range.

## Fines and Restitution

A fine was ordered for 8 of the 12 (67%), and restitution for 9 (75%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 7 (58%), with a median term of 24 months.

The sheet gives no fine or restitution figures for all districts, so these shares have no comparison here.

## Guilty Pleas and Trials

A total of 10 of 12 (83%) pleaded guilty, and 2 were convicted after a trial. In all districts, 91% pleaded guilty. Among the guilty pleas, 90% had a written plea agreement, and 10% were straight pleas with no agreement.

No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 12 people.

## A Small and Early Group

Antitrust was less than 1% of the 4,546 people sentenced in this district. Fiscal years 2016 to 2019 had 9 people, and fiscal years 2020 to 2025 had 3 people. The table lists the years with cases, and the records for this offense type end at fiscal year 2022\. The count in 2016 was 6, the largest of any year, and the table does not show a trend.

Criminal history category I applied to 83% of the group, and category VI applied to 0%. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 6                | 5 months      | 6 of 6         |
| 2018        | 3                | 10 months     | 1 of 3         |
| 2020        | 2                | n/a           | 2 of 2         |
| 2022        | 1                | n/a           | 1 of 1         |

## Installations and Limits

Beale AFB, Edwards AFB, and Travis AFB, all in California, are in this district. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not in this federal court.

Acquittals and dismissals are not in the Commission's data.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Eastern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California East") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Antitrust" (12). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-eastern-district-of-california/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Eastern District of California, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-eastern-district-of-california/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.