I know laws against price fixing apply to large corporations and small businesses alike. However, do such laws also apply to individuals?
For example, let's say I am selling cookies on Etsy and find two other local Etsy sellers who also have cookies for sale. I reach out to them to set up an agreement to not sell cookies below a certain price. Would such an agreement be illegal?
Yes. The Sherman Act is explicitly aimed at "persons" -- not businesses -- who make agreements in restraint of trade, though it makes clear that both corporations and individuals are subject to liability.
The most recent statistics I could find indicate that DOJ's antitrust division typically dozens of individuals criminally prosecuted for antitrust violations every year. There are presumably many more examples coming from individual U.S. Attorney's Offices, as well as state-level prosecutions for violations of analogous state laws. Notable recent examples include Carlos Favian Martinez, Neeraj Jindal, and Jeffrey Glazer.
You and your cookie co-conspirators are therefore subject to fines of up to $1 million each and up to 10 years in prison.
