Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States and potentially pay up to $487 million in fines to avoid prosecution, the Justice Department said in a court filing Sunday evening.
But that fine is a fraction of the $24.8 billion that families of crash victims wanted the aircraft maker to pay. The families of victims of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max oppose the deal, the department said.
“This sweetheart deal fails to recognize that because of Boeing’s conspiracy, 346 people died,” said a statement from Paul Cassell, a law professor of University of Utah who represents many family members of the 2018 Lion Air crash and 2019 Ethiopian Air crash victims.
“This deceptive and generous deal is clearly not in the public interest,” he added. The families are seeking a public trial on the charges.
Boeing issued a brief statement saying only that it can “confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to … approval of specific terms.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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