The U.S. Justice Department is urging Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud related to the two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max jetliners, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The plea deal, presented by federal prosecutors on Sunday, gives Boeing until the end of the week to respond. If accepted, Boeing would agree to an independent monitor to oversee its compliance with anti-fraud laws, according to Associated Press.
The case follows the Justice Department's conclusion that Boeing breached a 2021 agreement meant to settle a charge of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government.
Prosecutors are accusing Boeing of misleading regulators who approved the 737 Max and set pilot training requirements. Boeing had previously blamed two lower-level employees for the fraud.
During a video meeting with relatives of the 346 victims from the 2018 and 2019 crashes, prosecutors outlined the plea offer. Many family members, who have long demanded a criminal trial and a $24.8 billion fine for Boeing, expressed anger at the decision.
One attendee accused prosecutors of gaslighting the families, while another vented their frustrations for several minutes.
"We are upset. They should just prosecute," said Nadia Milleron, whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second crash.
"This is just a reworking of letting Boeing off the hook."
Prosecutors informed the families that if Boeing rejects the plea offer, the Justice Department will pursue a trial. The offer was later presented to Boeing in a separate meeting, according to an insider.
If accepted, the plea agreement would limit U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor's ability to increase Boeing's sentence upon conviction. Some family members plan to urge Judge O'Connor to reject the deal should Boeing accept it.
"The underlying outrageous piece of this deal is that it doesn't acknowledge that Boeing's crime killed 346 people," said Paul Cassell, a lawyer for the victims' families.
"Boeing is not going to be held accountable for that, and they are not going to admit that that happened."
Sanjiv Singh, representing families from the 2018 Lion Air crash, called the plea offer "extremely disappointing" and described it as a "sweetheart deal."
A conviction might jeopardize Boeing's status as a federal contractor, though federal agencies can grant waivers to convicted felons, and it is expected Boeing would receive such waivers due to its significant contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.
Boeing previously paid a $244 million fine as part of the 2021 settlement. The Justice Department is likely to seek a similar penalty in the new plea offer, according to a source familiar with the case.
