Federal Antitrust Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025
The records list 80 people sentenced for antitrust offenses in the Northern District of California, all in fiscal years 2016 to 2021. Of those, 28 (35%) received a prison term, with a median of 11 months, and 90% were ordered to pay a fine. For antitrust cases in all 94 federal districts, 44% were s
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY › Antitrust: Northern District of California
In brief: The records list 80 people sentenced for antitrust offenses in the Northern District of California, all in fiscal years 2016 to 2021. Of those, 28 (35%) received a prison term, with a median of 11 months, and 90% were ordered to pay a fine. For antitrust cases in all 94 federal districts, 44% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 6 months.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 80 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Most Antitrust Sentences Came in Fiscal Years 2017 and 2018
The 80 antitrust sentences in this district are concentrated in time. In fiscal years 2016 to 2019, 76 people were sentenced. In fiscal years 2020 to 2025, 4 people were sentenced.
The yearly table shows that 26 people were sentenced in 2017 and 48 in 2018. Every other year has 1 to 3 people. The district's antitrust numbers therefore describe mostly 2017 and 2018, and they do not describe a steady flow of cases.
Fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. The table has no rows after 2021.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 6 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2017 | 26 | 12 months | 77% |
| 2018 | 48 | 7 months | 94% |
| 2019 | 1 | 12 months | 1 of 1 |
| 2020 | 1 | 40 months | 0 of 1 |
| 2021 | 3 | n/a | 3 of 3 |
How Many Went to Prison?
Of the 80 people, 28 (35%) received a prison term. Another 18 (23%) received probation only, with no prison or other confinement.
Among those sent to prison, the median prison term was 11 months. A quarter received 14.2 months or more, and a quarter received 6 months or less.
In all 94 districts, 189 people were sentenced for antitrust. In that group, 44% were sent to prison and the median prison term was 6 months. The share sent to prison was lower in this district, and the median prison term was higher.
Fines and Restitution
Antitrust cases in this district relied heavily on financial penalties. A fine was ordered for 72 people (90%), and restitution was ordered for 53 (66%).
Supervised release after prison was ordered for 26 people (33%). The median supervised release term was 36 months.
No mandatory minimum prison term applied to any of the 80 people with that information recorded.
The Guideline and the Offense Category
"Antitrust" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's offense type for these cases. The primary guideline for 79 of the 80 people was §2R1.1 (Bid-Rigging, Price-Fixing or Market-Allocation Agreements Among Competitors).
Antitrust cases were 2% of the 4,531 people sentenced in the district across fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The district's median prison term for all offenses was 30 months, much longer than the antitrust median of 11 months.
Pleas, Trials, and the Guideline Range
Of the 80 people, 70 (88%) pleaded guilty and 10 were convicted after a trial. Among guilty pleas, 99% had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 7 months. After a trial it was 18 months, based on 10 people convicted at trial and sent to prison.
Sentences were within the guideline range for 13% (10) of the 80 people. They were below the range at the government's request for 76% (61), and below it without a government request for 11% (9). Nationally, 14% of antitrust sentences were within the range.
What the Records Do Not Show
On criminal history, 93% were in the lowest category, category I. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
The data count only people who were convicted and sentenced. Cases that ended in an acquittal or a dismissal are not included, and the prison terms are the terms imposed, not time served.
Because only a few years have cases, the records cannot show how antitrust sentencing in this district changed over time.
How We Counted
Everyone sentenced in federal court in the Northern District of California (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "California North") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Antitrust" (80). 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 (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the Northern District of California, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.