Boeing Signs $1.1 Billion Non-Prosecution Deal in 737 MAX Crash Case, Admits to Criminal Fraud

The admission of fraud allows Boeing to avert a criminal trial over crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people.

The Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow, in Farnborough, England, on July 20, 2022. Peter Cziborra/Reuters

Boeing has signed a $1.1 billion deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) that allows the aerospace giant to avoid criminal prosecution for deceiving federal regulators before two deadly 737 MAX crashes.

Under a final non-prosecution agreement, signed on May 29 and disclosed in a June 4 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Boeing admitted to conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and agreed to pay nearly half a billion dollars to the families of the 346 victims of the crashes, along with additional fines and investments in safety and compliance.