The U.S. Justice Department is expected to propose that Boeing plead guilty to fraud in connection with two deadly plane crashes involving its 737 Max jetliners, according to sources who attended a meeting where federal prosecutors detailed the offer on Sunday. Boeing will have until the end of the coming week to accept or reject the proposal, which involves the company agreeing to an independent monitor overseeing its compliance with anti-fraud laws.
The Justice Department informed relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes about the plea offer during a video meeting, according to Mark Lindquist, one of the lawyers representing families suing Boeing, and another person who heard the call with prosecutors. During the meeting, family members expressed anger that prosecutors wanted to offer Boeing a chance to plead guilty to a 3-year-old charge instead of pursuing additional charges and a trial.
One family member accused the prosecutors of gaslighting the families; another shouted at them for several minutes when given the opportunity to speak. We are upset. They should just prosecute,” said Massachusetts resident Nadia Milleron, whose 24-year-old daughter Samya Stumo died in the second of two 737 Max crashes. They are saying we can argue to the judge.
Prosecutors informed the families that if Boeing rejects the plea offer, the Justice Department would seek a trial in the matter. Boeing declined to comment on the situation. The meeting took place several weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge that American aerospace giant Boeing had breached a January 2021 deal that protected the company from criminal prosecution in connection with the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
A conviction could jeopardize Boeing’s status as a federal contractor, according to some legal experts. The company holds large contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.
