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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department has formally moved to dismiss a criminal fraud charge against Boeing and has asked a judge to cancel an upcoming trial connected to two plane crashes that killed 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia, according to court documents filed Thursday.
The deal, announced last week, will allow the American aircraft manufacturer to avoid criminal prosecution for allegedly misleading U.S. regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before the planes crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.
The “agreement in principle” will require the company to pay and invest more than $1.1 billion, including an additional $445 million for the crash victims’ families, in return for dismissing the criminal case, according to court documents. Dismissing the fraud charge will allow the manufacturer to avoid a possible criminal conviction that could have jeopardized the company’s status as a federal contractor, experts have said.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, will decide whether to accept the motion to dismiss, accept the terms of the non-prosecution agreement and whether to cancel the trial. O’Connor on Thursday ordered all the lawyers to present him with a briefing schedule on the government’s motion by June 4.
Some relatives of the passengers who died in the crashes have been pushing for a public trial, the prosecution of former company officials, and more severe financial punishment for Boeing. The Justice Department has noted that the victims’ families had mixed views on the proposed deal.
Nadia Milleron, a Massachusetts resident whose 24-year-old daughter, Samya Stumo, died in the Ethiopia crash, in an email Thursday said it hurt her to read the Justice Department's “false” statement that the agreement will secure meaningful accountability, deliver public benefits and bring finality to a complex case whose outcome would otherwise be uncertain.
“This is not a difficult or complex case because Boeing signed a confession,” Milleron said. “There will be no accountability as a result of the NPA (non-prosecution deal).”
Boeing said in a statement that the company is committed to complying with its obligations under the resolution, including commitments to further institutional improvements and investments, as well as additional compensation for families of those who died in the two plane crashes.
“We are deeply sorry for their losses, and remain committed to honoring their loved ones’ memories by pressing forward with the broad and deep changes to our company that we have made to strengthen our safety system and culture,” a Boeing spokesperson said in the statement.