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“The misleading statements, half-truths and omissions communicated by Boeing employees to the FAA have hampered the government’s ability to ensure the safety of the flying public,” said U.S. District Attorney Erin Nealy Cox for the North Texas District . “This case sends a clear message: The Justice Department will hold manufacturers like Boeing responsible for defrauding regulators – especially in industries where the stakes are so high.”
The government case against the company indicates that at least two Boeing employees, who have not been identified, engaged in the fraud from late 2016, in the final stages of the jet’s approval, until the end of 2018, when the aircraft was already in service and after the the first crash had occurred.
According to the file, at least one of the two employees left Boeing in July 2018 to work for an airline. The employment status of the other employee in the file was not specified. Boeing has agreed to cooperate with any individual lawsuits arising from this matter.
The settlement includes a criminal fine of $ 243.6 million, compensation payments of $ 1.77 billion to Boeing airline customers and an additional $ 500 million to a fund to compensate family members victims of the accident. Boeing had already set aside money to pay the airlines and $ 100 million for the families of the victims. He said he would take an additional charge of $ 743.6 million against profits as a result of the settlement.
Under the deal, the Justice Department would postpone any criminal prosecution against Boeing for three years and the charges will be dismissed if it sees no further wrongdoing from the company.
“I firmly believe that concluding this resolution is the right thing to do for us – a step that rightly recognizes that we have not delivered on our values and expectations,” said the CEO of Boeing, Dave Calhoun. “This resolution is a serious reminder to all of us how crucial our obligation to be transparent to regulators is, and the consequences our business may face if one of us does not meet those expectations.
But several family members of the crash victims attacked the colony like a “slap in the wrist”.
“This is a Boeing protection deal,” said Michael Stumo, father of Samya Rose Stumo, who died in the second crash in March 2019. He said the families of the crash victims urged the Justince department not to come to an agreement with Boeing. . “The people at Boeing who have committed fraudulent acts will not be held responsible. The government continues to protect them despite acknowledging their criminal acts. The dollar amounts of the settlement are just rounding errors in the finances of the Boeing companies. This is false justice accepted by insiders while excluding victims. ‘families. “
“May this remind us that the current Boeing and FAA executives are not fit to be entrusted with human life,” said Zipporah Kuria, a UK resident who lost her father in the second crash. “Their priority is the interests of companies in relation to human life.” She said the settlement “did not even scratch the surface of justice”.
Lost revenue from canceled, delayed or renegotiated sales could cost tens of billions more, experts say. This could make the 737 Max debacle one of the costliest business mistakes of all time, in terms of financial cost and lives lost.
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