Boeing committed ‘the deadliest corporate crime in US history’ and should be fined $24 billion, victims’ families say
Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial.
The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecuti... moreBoeing committed ‘the deadliest corporate crime in US history’ and should be fined $24 billion, victims’ families say
Families that lost loved ones in two Boeing 737 Max crashes said on Wednesday that the company committed the “deadliest corporate crime in US history” and asked the Justice Department to fine the company the maximum $24 billion it could face in a criminal trial.
The families wrote to the Department of Justice asking for the fine as the US government considers criminal prosecution of Boeing. The Justice Department said last month that Boeing’s recent string of safety lapses and mishaps constituted a violation of its 2021 agreement that allowed the company to avoid charges for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia in March 2019 that killed 346 people.
The “appropriate action now is an aggressive criminal prosecution” against Boeing including a quick jury trial and “criminal prosecutions of the responsible corporate officials,” including former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, the families’ attorney wrote.
“Because time is of the essence to avoid any statute of limitations from running (out), the Department should begin these prosecutions promptly,” they wrote in the 32-page letter, which was sent by Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the families.
The letter also asks the Justice Department for an independent corporate monitor to oversee Boeing’s safety measures and to direct it in its efforts to improve its quality.
Boeing did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
In May, the Department of Justice notified Boeing that it had breached terms of its 2021 agreement following a January incident in which a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff in January.
The Justice Department said in its letter that it has not yet determined how it will proceed and Boeing had the opportunity to respond to its breach of the agreement – and steps it has taken to remediate the situation – by last week. The DOJ said it will let the court know by July 7 how it will proceed.
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