SEATTLE — The U.S. Justice Department plans to propose that Boeing plead guilty to fraud in connection with two deadly 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 the coming week to accept or reject the offer, which includes the giant aerospace company agreeing to an independent monitor who would oversee its compliance with anti-fraud laws, they said.
The Justice Department told 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 who are suing Boeing, and another person who heard the call with prosecutors.
"Most victim families are frustrated, some were pretty vocal," Lindquist said. "They feel like Boeing has been dodging responsibility for several years and they were hoping for the DOJ to bring the hammer down."
Lindquist, who is familiar with both sides of plea deals as the former Pierce County Prosecutor, said the DOJ's offer is fair.
"Boeing has to take it," Lindquist said. "In fact they have to take any deal they're offered. They can't go to trial, they have way too much dirty laundry to risk a highly public trial... the evidence in this case is just absolutely overwhelming."
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 the prosecutors were gaslighting the families; another shouted at them for several minutes when given a chance to speak.
“We are upset," said Massachusetts resident Nadia Milleron, whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second of two 737 Max crashes. "They should just prosecute. They are saying we can argue to the judge.”
Prosecutors told the families that if Boeing rejected the plea offer, the Justice Department would seek a trial in the matter, they said.
Boeing declined to comment.
The meeting came weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge the American aerospace giant breached a January 2021 deal that protected Boeing from criminal prosecution in connection with the crashes in Indonesia and in Ethiopia.
"I am floored," said Javier de Luis, the brother of Gabriella de Luis y Ponce, who died in the Ethiopia crash. "I'm disappointed. I'm just flabbergasted that the DOJ can think this is an improvement to what they did before. It's another sweetheart deal and the public will pay the price."
A conviction could jeopardize Boeing’s status as a federal contractor, according to some legal experts. The company has large contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.