Penalties for violating antitrust laws include criminal and civil penalties:
Violations of the Sherman Act individuals can be fined up to $350,000 and sentenced to up to 3 years in prison. Companies can be fined up to $10 million. Violations of the Clayton Act individuals injured by antitrust violations can sue the violators in court for three times the amount of damages actually suffered. These are known as treble-damages, and can also be sought in class-action antitrust lawsuits. Damages also include attorneys' fees and other litigation costs. Violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act the FTC has the authority to issue an order that the violator stop its anticompetitive practices. Violations of state antitrust laws state antitrust laws often prohibit the same kinds of conduct as the federal antitrust laws. As a result, the penalties state laws impose are also similar and can range from criminal to civil sanctions.
Violating the Sherman Antitrust act was a criminal offence and resulted in fines ranging from 100 Million for large corporations to 1 million for individual citizens and each with 10 years of prison.
Explanation:
The Sherman Antitrust act banned unlawful activity regarding trade and attempted to reduce risks of monopolization. It was subsumed under the general category of an antitrust law, which prescribed which sort of practices were unlawful and let the courts decide based on individual cases. The violation of this act resulted in bitter consequences for those types of criminals, such as high economic fines and 10 years of imprisonment.
