Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud over 737 Max crashes in deal with DoJ

(Sharecast News) - Troubled aircraft maker Boeing on Sunday pleaded guilty to a felony charge of conspiring to defraud the US government over two fatal crashes of its 737 Max in 2018 and 2019, according to a late-night court filing.

Boeing also agreed to pay a $487.2m - which is the maximum allowed by law - and invest at least $455m over the next three years to strengthen compliance and safety programs.

Federal prosecutors gave Boeing the choice of entering a guilty plea and paying a fine as part of its sentence or face a trial on the felony criminal charge. The plea deal must still receive the approval of a federal judge to take effect,

It will now be put on a three-year probation period, supervised by the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The US Federal Justice Department will appoint an independent compliance monitor who will make sure that safety measures are in place and followed, and submit annual reports to the government.

Extra penalties will be imposed for any violation of the terms and the company's board of directors will also be required to meet with crash victims' families, the filing stated.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com