Title: Boeing Reaches $2.5 Billion 737 Max Settlement with U.S. - The New York Times
Headings: Boeing Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement With U.S. Over 737 Max
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Boeing Reaches $2.5 Billion Settlement With U.S. Over 737 Max
The company agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department.
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Content: That investigation appeared to have some momentum about a year ago as prosecutors had summoned several Boeing employees in front of a federal grand jury. But the speed of the investigation slowed in the months after the pandemic struck in March. Prosecutors were examining whether a top pilot for the company, Mark Forkner, had intentionally lied to the regulator about the nature of new flight control software. The software, which could push down the nose of the plane, played a role in the two deadly crashes. Lawyers for Mr. Forkner have previously said that he did not mislead regulators and would never put the safety of pilots or passengers at risk. Deferred prosecution agreements are often used by the government in criminal cases against corporations. They effectively hold a prosecution in abeyance, allowing companies to temporarily avoid charges if they don’t commit wrongdoing for a period of time. In Boeing’s case, the charges will be dismissed after three years if Boeing complies with the agreement. The Justice Department did not seek to appoint an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance — a step the government sometimes takes in such deals — because it said that “the misconduct was neither pervasive across the organization, nor undertaken by a large number of employees.” Wells Fargo agreed to pay $3 billion in a deferred prosecution deal last February stemming from its mistreatment of customers in its community bank.