Boeing will plead guilty to criminal fraud charges following the Department of Justice’s investigation into multiple fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes. The plea deal will allow Boeing to avoid a criminal trial by paying up to a $487.2 million fine, although the DOJ has asked a judge to credit Boeing for fines the company has already paid. With credits factored in, Boeing would pay a $243.6 million fine.
“We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialization and approval of specific terms,” Boeing said in a statement.
DOJ prosecutors accused Boeing of “knowingly and willfully” conspiring to defraud the U.S. by concealing information from aviation regulators about the 737 Max’s software systems. Faulty safety features caused two crashes, a 2018 Lion Air flight and a 2019 Ethiopian Airlines flight, which killed 346 individuals.
“The tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 exposed fraudulent and deceptive conduct by employees of one of the world’s leading commercial airplane manufacturers,” then-acting Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said in 2021. “Boeing’s employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception.”
In 2021, prosecutors delayed charging Boeing with conspiracy to defraud the federal government because the aviation giant agreed to implement greater oversight over manufacturing processes. However, after an in-flight structural failure aboard a Boeing 737-9 Max, an Alaska Airlines flight, in January, the DOJ opened another investigation into Boeing, and prosecutors told a judge that Boeing had violated its previous agreement.
Law firms representing the families whose loved ones were killed on Flights 610 and 302 will ask the judge “to not accept the plea deal in its current form,” one firm said. Boeing and the DOJ are slated to reach a final agreement by July 19, and the plea deal needs a judge’s approval before it takes effect.
“This sweetheart deal fails to recognize that because of Boeing’s conspiracy, 346 people died. Through crafty lawyering between Boeing and DOJ, the deadly consequences of Boeing’s crime are being hidden,” Paul Cassell, a lawyer for some of the victims’ families, said.
Under the plea deal, Boeing would be required to spend an additional $455 million on compliance programs and would be subject to an independent monitor overseeing Boeing’s safety procedures for three years, the Associated Press reported.
Boeing’s largest customer is the federal government. U.S. government contracts supplied 37 percent of its revenue in 2023, and a criminal conviction could hinder Boeing’s ability to compete for federal contracts.