The Department of Justice (DOJ) plans to allow Boeing to avoid a trial if it pleads guilty to fraud charges related to the fatal crashes of its 737 MAX jetliners, according to The New York Times.
The Justice Department has reportedly offered Boeing a deal to plead guilty to fraud charges to avoid a criminal trial, provided the company agrees to pay a $244 million fine, make safety improvements, undergo three years of monitoring, and meet with executives and the families of the crash victims. according to The fraud allegations stem from the company's 2021 settlement of a lawsuit that accused it of defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jetliners in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, according to The New York Times.
“The families will vigorously oppose this plea agreement,” Paul Cassell, legal counsel for the victims' families, said, according to The New York Times. “The memory of the 346 innocent people murdered by Boeing demands more justice than this.”
An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 approaches to land at San Diego International Airport from Phoenix on June 28, 2024 in San Diego, California. Traffic is backed up on Interstate 5 southbound toward downtown San Diego during the afternoon commute. (Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The deal comes ahead of a July 7 deadline for the Department of Justice to file charges to bring criminal charges against the plane maker, according to The New York Times. Boeing has until then to agree to the terms of the deal.
In pleading guilty, Boeing will also agree to a set of facts outlined in a 2021 settlement agreement. Cassell described the agreement as a “whitewashed” story and said it doesn't hold Boeing responsible for the fatal crashes, according to The New York Times. The plea deal was first communicated by federal officials in a call with families on Sunday, before being communicated to Boeing. (Related: Video shows Boeing plane's engines sparking before emergency landing)
In 2021 Payment required According to the New York Times, Boeing paid $500 million to the families of the victims and $1.7 billion to customers who were unable to use the planes for business purposes due to the 20-month ban. MayThe Justice Department found that Boeing violated the agreement by failing to implement an ethics program aimed at preventing fraud.
Boeing is facing whistleblowers who claim the company's planes were designed flawed, with one alleging in June that some planes were fitted with substandard parts. Boeing's revenues have been falling, and the company's earnings report projected a loss of $355 million for the first quarter of 2024.
Boeing and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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