Boeing Accepts DOJ's 'Sweetheart' Plea Deal

Boeing will avoid a trial in its criminal fraud case after accepting what one lawyer called a "shameful sweetheart deal" with the federal government.

Lawyers representing families of victims of two fatal plane crashes will now lobby the judge to reject Boeing's deal with the U.S. Department of Justice , details of which were disclosed by the DOJ to victims' families last Sunday via WebEx call.

Erin Applebaum, an attorney representing 34 families who lost loved ones in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max in 2019, was present during that call and revealed the terms of the deal to Newsweek .

Boeing had until Friday night to accept the government's offer, or face a battle with federal prosecutors in court.

Under the approved terms of the deal, Boeing will now plead guilty to one count of defrauding Federal Aviation Administration officials over the flight control software known as MCAS that played a role in the 2019 crash, as well as one in Indonesia five months earlier.

In return, the aerospace company will avoid going to trial and pay a $243.6 million fine, undergo three years of probation by a "hand-picked" monitor, and meet with the relatives of those who died onboard its planes.

Applebaum said that the families "vigorously opposed" the deal, which "falsely depicts itself as a punishment."

Why Was Boeing Offered a Plea Deal?

The government's case dates back to two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes in late 2018 and early 2019, which left 346 dead.

Boeing was charged with misleading regulators into approving the faulty planes, but evaded prosecution by agreeing to enforce stricter compliance measures.

In May, however, federal prosecutors determined that Boeing had violated this deferred prosecution agreement and 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."

Why Did Boeing Accept the Deal?

When it was first announced, Applebaum predicted that Boeing would "gladly" accept the deal given what she viewed as its lenient terms.

"It includes a guilty plea, the deal levies a negligible fine, imposes a monitor for just three years, [and] allows Boeing to hand-select that monitor," Applebaum told Newsweek.

Paul Cassell, a former district judge and lawyer currently representing the families of those who died in the 2018 and 2019 737 Max crashes, also called the $243.6 million fine "a pittance for Boeing."

A guilty plea also avoids the added publicity that accompanies a criminal trial, and the publicization of potentially incriminating documents that are currently in the hands of Boeing.

Speaking to Corporate Crime Reporter, Applebaum said that without a criminal trial, "I very highly doubt that these documents will ever see the light of day unless they are inappropriately leaked."

Will the Judge Accept the Deal?

The plea will be filed in a District Court in Fort Worth, Texas.

Judge Reed O'Connor will be able to accept, reject, or defer the plea agreement.

However, victims' families are adamant that O'Connor reject the DOJ offer that Boeing has agreed to.

Paul Cassell, a former district judge and lawyer currently representing the families of those who died in the 2018 and 2019 737 MAX crashes, previously told Newsweek that his team would contact O'Connor "swiftly" after the deal is filed, urging him to reject it.

In particular, Cassell said the judge will have to decide whether the deal's "no accountability" element is in the public interest.

While the deal was not shared with the lawyers in writing, both Cassell and Applebaum said that it will absolve Boeing from any culpability in the 346 deaths, and that the deal "rest[s] on the idea that Boeing did not harm any victim."

The victims' family members have already filed a notice with the court to object to the proposed plea.

According to the notice, they intend to argue in court that the deal "unfairly makes concessions to Boeing that other criminal defendants would never receive and fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 persons."

They have also requested that the court delay setting a scheduling order until at least July 12, "in order to give the families' counsel an opportunity to confer with other counsel in the case about proposing to the court a mutually agreeable briefing schedule."

"We look forward to our day in court so we can tell Judge O'Connor and the public why the court should reject this deal and not allow Boeing to once again escape true accountability", Appelbaum said.

What Happens if the Judge Accepts the Deal?

If Judge O'Connor chooses to accept the plea arrangement, his discretion at sentencing will be limited.

Cassell told Newsweek that he would be prevented from "imposing any additional punishment or remedial measures" beyond those included in the deal between the DOJ and Boeing.

However, Applebaum told Newsweek that Boeing may be forced to pay restitution under the proposal, the amount of which will be at the discretion of Judge O'Connor.