David Shepardson
3 min read
The U.S. Justice Department said on May 23 it has struck a deal in principle with Boeing to allow it to avoid prosecution in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people, dealing a blow to victims' relatives.
The agreement allows Boeing to avoid being branded a convicted felon and was harshly criticized by many families who lost relatives in the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the U.S. planemaker to trial. A lawyer for family members and two U.S. senators had urged the Justice Department not to abandon its prosecution, but the government quickly rejected the requests.
"This kind of non-prosecution deal is unprecedented and obviously wrong for the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history. My families will object and hope to convince the court to reject it,” said Paul Cassell, a lawyer representing many of the families.
Boeing agreed to pay an additional $444.5 million into a crash victims’ fund that would be divided evenly per crash victim on top of an additional $243.6 million fine.
The Justice Department expects to file the written agreement with Boeing by the end of next week. Boeing will no longer face oversight by an independent monitor under the agreement.
Boeing will pay in total over $1.1 billion including the fine and compensation to families and over $455 million to strengthen the company’s compliance, safety, and quality programs, the Justice Department said.
"Boeing must continue to improve the effectiveness of its anti-fraud compliance and ethics program and retain an independent compliance consultant," the department said Friday. "We are confident that this resolution is the most just outcome with practical benefits."
Boeing declined immediate comment.
Reuters first reported on May 16 that Boeing had reached a tentative nonprosecution agreement with the government.
The agreement would forestall a June 23 trial date the planemaker faces on a charge it misled U.S. regulators about a crucial flight control system on the 737 MAX, its best-selling jet.
Boeing in July had agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia spanning 2018 and 2019, pay a fine of up to $487.2 million and face three years of independent oversight.
"With this filing, the DOJ walks away from any pretense to seek justice for the victims of the 737 MAX crashes,” said Javier de Luis, an aerospace engineer of Massachusetts who lost his sister in the Ethiopian crash.
