DOJ Accuses Boeing of Breaching Non-Prosecution Agreement

(USNewsBreak.com) – Boeing has had its hands full lately. Two whistleblowers have died, authorities found safety issues on several of its planes, and it is facing investigations and lawsuits. Now, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is adding more to its pile.

Reports indicate that the DOJ recently notified a federal court that it found the aerospace company had violated its 2021 Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA). This agreement shielded the company from criminal prosecution regarding two fatal 737 Max airplane crashes, one each in 2018 and 2019. A total of 346 people died in the two accidents, which took place in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

The DOJ said late on May 14 that Boeing had breached its obligations in a 2021 agreement that shielded the planemaker from criminal prosecution over fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 https://t.co/zOddobkToT pic.twitter.com/POswzZxBcB

— Reuters Legal (@ReutersLegal) May 14, 2024

The DOJ says the violation resulted from the company failing to adhere to elements of the DPA, including “design[ing], implement[ing], and enforc[ing] a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations” of fraud laws. As a result, the DOJ could now charge Boeing, though the department hasn’t determined “how it will proceed in [the] matter.”

Boeing has until June 13 to respond to the DOJ, but it released a statement, saying the company “will engage with the Department with the utmost transparency.” The two parties entered the agreement in January 2021 after the Justice Department charged the company with a fraud conspiracy involving its 737 Max airplane.

Prosecutors accused the aerospace company of “concealing material information,” which put travelers’ safety at risk, and then trying to “cover up [its] deception” after the two major crashes. As a result of the DPA, the company also agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion. Boeing earmarked $500 million to compensate victims of the accidents.

Federal prosecutors contend Boeing is still battling with safety issues. Earlier this year, a door plug blew off a 737 Max 9 airplane operated by Alaska Airlines while in flight. The incident didn’t seriously injure anyone, but it raised questions about the company’s protocols. A number of whistleblowers have since come forward, though two of them have died — one of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the other of an illness.