Price fixing is very profitable, at least until you get busted. Between 1999 and 2002, a number of DRAM manufacturers conspired to fix prices for their chips. That led to higher prices for PC manufacturers such as Dell, Apple, HP, and just about every other company. Those increased prices were then passed on to consumers. When the computer makers brought an unanticipated price spike to the attention of the Department of Justice, an investigation was launched. It concluded with guilty pleas from Samsung, Hynix, Infineon, and Elpida, among others.