State and federal penalties for perjury include fines and/or prison terms upon conviction. Federal law (18 USC § 1621), for example, states that anyone found guilty of the crime will be fined or imprisoned for up to five years. ... Perjury is rarely charged and it's hard to prove.

Do people actually get charged with perjury?

A person convicted of perjury under federal law may face up to five years in prison and fines. The punishment for perjury under state law varies from state to state, but perjury is a felony and carries a possible prison sentence of at least one year, plus fines and probation.

Is perjury ever prosecuted?

Ultimately, perjury prosecutions may be relatively uncommon, but this doesn't necessarily mean a jury will believe a witness to be telling the truth. In many criminal and civil suits, witnesses may possess criminal history themselves or may be involved in some way to the crime in question.