Department of Justice says Boeing may be criminally liable in 737 Max crashes

Boeing has violated a 2021 agreement that shielded it from criminal prosecution after two 737 Max disasters left 346 people dead overseas, the Department of Justice told a federal judge in a court filing Tuesday.

According to the DOJ, Boeing failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."

The government has not yet decided if it will pursue prosecution of Boeing, but lawyers representing families of the victims who died in the crash said they hope to see further action in the case.

“This is a positive first step, and for the families, a long time coming. But we need to see further action from DOJ to hold Boeing accountable, and plan to use our meeting on May 31 to explain in more detail what we believe would be a satisfactory remedy to Boeing’s ongoing criminal conduct,” Paul Cassell, attorney for the victims’ families and a professor of law at the University of Utah College of Law, said in a statement.

“We can confirm that we received a communication today from the Justice Department, stating that the Department has made a determination that we have not met our obligations under our 2021 deferred prosecution agreement, and requesting the company's response," Boeing told USA TODAY in a statement.

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