The US District Court for the Northern District of California sentences an individual guilty of computer-algorithm-based price fixing to six months in prison (Daniel William Aston)

A recent criminal sentencing concludes the first prosecution by the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division involving a computer-algorithm-based pricing conspiracy. Two corporate executives and a corporation were prosecuted in the investigation. The case also highlights some of the international tools the DOJ uses in its ongoing cartel enforcement efforts to hold foreign executives accountable for their extraterritorial conduct. On January 17, 2019, the US District Court for the Northern District of California sentenced Daniel William Aston, an owner and director of Trod Ltd. d/b/a BUY 4 LESS, in connection with a collusive price-fixing scheme in the sale of wall posters on an online marketplace. [1] The court imposed a sentence of six months with about five months’ credit for time