Boeing admits defrauding US government, forced to pay hundreds of millions

Boeing admits it defrauded the U.S. government following two deadly crashes several years ago, and now the company is forced to pay out hundreds of millions of dollars and make some serious changes.

The Department of Justice just released its findings and punishments regarding Boeing’s inability to make significant safety changes.

In 2021, Boeing and the DOJ entered into a deferred prosecution agreement regarding the 2018 and 2019 deadly Boeing plane crashes which killed 346 people.

As part of the agreement, Boeing was required to make safety changes.

Several days before the agreement was set to expire, an Alaska Airlines plane's door blew off mid-flight. The plane was made by Boeing.

"I think it’s a fair thing to say it looked like Boeing had hoped to just skate by," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation industry consultant with Leeham Company. "The safety reforms that Boeing announced after those two accidents [2018 and 2019 deadly crashes] apparently meant nothing," he added.

Now, Boeing has pleaded guilty to defrauding the government. 

With the guilty plea, the company has to pay out $243 million in criminal penalties, and invest more than $455 million in compliance, safety and quality programs.

Boeing also must bring in a compliance monitor.

However, some people think Boeing is getting off the hook too easily.

"The families again feel betrayed by the Department of Justice and by Boeing," said Justin Green.

Green is an aviation lawyer with Kreindler and Kreindler. He is also representing dozens of victims’ families from the 2019 Boeing Ethiopian deadly plane crash. "The families really want to send the biggest message they possibly can to Boeing and to other potential wrong doings out there that if you don’t prioritize safety over short-term profit, ultimately you’re going to pay a big price," he said.

Green said they plan to appeal the guilty plea next week in an effort to get Boeing into a courtroom.

FOX 13 Seattle reached out to Boeing, who responded with the following statement:

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