The U.S. Justice Department is considering an offer for Boeing to plead guilty to fraud in connection with two fatal plane crashes involving its 737 Max jetliners, according to two people who heard federal prosecutors detail the offer Sunday.
Boeing will have until the end of next week to accept or reject the offer, which involves the aerospace giant agreeing to have an independent monitor monitor its compliance with anti-fraud laws, they said.
The Justice Department informed relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes of the plea offer during a video meeting, according to Mark Lindquist, one of the attorneys representing the 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 three-year-old charge instead of pursuing additional charges and a trial.
One said prosecutors were manipulating the families, and another yelled at them for several minutes when given a chance to speak.
Massachusetts resident Nadia Milleron said: “We’re devastated. They should just sue.” Her 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second of the two 737 Max crashes. “They’re saying we can argue in court,” she added.
Prosecutors told the families that if Boeing rejects the plea offer, the Justice Department will seek a trial in the case, they said.
Boeing declined to comment.
The meeting came weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge that the U.S. aerospace giant violated a January 2021 agreement that shielded Boeing from criminal prosecution related to the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
A conviction could jeopardize Boeing’s status as a federal contractor, some legal experts say. The company has major contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.