US wants Boeing to admit to fraud

(AP) — The U.S. Justice Department plans to propose that Boeing Co. plead guilty to fraud in connection with two deadly 737 Max plane crashes, said two people who detailed the offer to federal prosecutors on Sunday.

Boeing will have until the end of next week to accept or reject the offer, which includes: the aviation industry giant’s consent to employ an independent monitor who will supervise the company’s compliance with anti-fraud regulations – it was reported.

The Justice Department informed relatives of some of the 346 people who died in the 2018 and 2019 crashes of the settlement offer during a video conference, according to Mark Lindquist, one of the lawyers representing the families suing Boeing, and another person who heard the conversation with prosecutors.

During the meeting, family members expressed anger that prosecutors wanted to give Boeing a chance to plead guilty to the 3-year-old charge rather than bring additional charges and a trial. One said prosecutors gaslighted families; another shouted at them for several minutes when given the chance to speak.

“We’re upset. They should just take it to court,” said Nadia Milleron, a Massachusetts resident whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the second of two 737 Max crashes. “They’re saying we can argue with a judge.”

Prosecutors told the families that if Boeing rejected the settlement offer, the Justice Department would go to court on the matter, they said.

Boeing declined to comment.

The meeting came weeks after prosecutors told a federal judge that the U.S. aerospace giant had breached a January 2021 agreement that shielded Boeing from criminal prosecution over the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

A conviction could jeopardize Boeing’s status as a federal contractor, some legal experts say. The company has large contracts with the Pentagon and NASA.