Current:Home > InvestFederal prosecutors recommend to Justice Department that Boeing be criminally prosecuted-LoTradeCoin
Federal prosecutors recommend to Justice Department that Boeing be criminally prosecuted
View Date:2024-12-24 00:48:50
Federal prosecutors have recommended to top Justice Department officials that airline manufacturer Boeing be criminally prosecuted, CBS News has learned.
While the recommendation to the Department of Justice's senior leadership is not a final decision, it is the latest development in the ongoing back-and-forth over Boeing's alleged violation of a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement. The exact nature of the newly recommended charges was not immediately clear.
News of the recommended charges was first reported by Reuters.
The Justice Department earlier this year found Boeing had violated the deferred prosecution agreement and indicated in court filings it might proceed with charges against the company for conduct tied to two deadly 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 and beyond.
The Justice Department has until July 7 to notify the federal court of its plans.
The Justice Department and Boeing both declined to comment.
The agreement stated Boeing would pay a $2.5 billion settlement and make certain organizational changes in exchange for the Justice Department dropping a fraud conspiracy charge after a period of three years. That three-year period would have ended in July, at which point the Justice Department would have closed the case against Boeing if it was determined the company had upheld its end of the agreement.
But in May, federal prosecutors wrote that Boeing "breached its obligations" and allegedly failed to "design, implement, and enforce a compliance and ethics program to prevent and detect violations of the U.S. fraud laws throughout its operations."
Boeing responded in June, telling the Department of Justice it had followed the terms of the deal and disagreed it had violated the agreement.
While the agreement came about following the two 737 Max crashes, which killed a total of 346 people, Boeing has encountered other issues with its planes since then. In January of this year, the cabin door of an Alaska Airlines plane blew off mid-flight. In March, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News that prosecutors were looking into whether the blowout might affect the deferred prosecution agreement.
A whistleblower report from June raised concerns that Boeing was using faulty parts in the construction of its jets.
The report from Boeing employee Sam Mohawk alleges there was a "300% increase" in reports about parts that did not meet manufacturer standards when it resumed production on the 737 Max. Those parts were supposed to be removed from production tracked, but the report alleges that "the 737 program was losing hundreds of non-conforming parts" and "Mohawk feared that non-conforming parts were being installed on the 737s and that could lead to a catastrophic event."
Another whistleblower, former quality manager Santiago Paredes, raised concerns about Spirit AeroSystems, the Boeing supplier that builds most of the 737 Max. Paredes told CBS News he was pressured to downplay problems he found while inspecting the plane's fuselages. He said in public comments that he often found problems while inspecting the part of the plane that experienced the mid-air blowout in January.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun faced a Senate hearing last week, during which he said the company is "far from perfect," but said it is "committed to making sure every employee feels empowered to speak up if there is a problem."
—Kris Van Cleave and Kathryn Krupnik contributed reporting.
- In:
- Boeing
- Boeing 737 Max
- Boeing 737
Robert Legare is a CBS News multiplatform reporter and producer covering the Justice Department, federal courts and investigations. He was previously an associate producer for the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell."
veryGood! (221)
Related
- Deion Sanders doubles down on vow to 99-year-old Colorado superfan
- Cristiano Ronaldo starts Youtube channel, gets record 1 million subscribers in 90 minutes
- Steph Curry says Kamala Harris can bring unity back to country as president
- The clothing we discard is a problem. How do we fix that? | The Excerpt
- A crowd of strangers brought 613 cakes and then set out to eat them
- Ex-Congressional candidate and FTX executive’s romantic partner indicted on campaign finance charges
- Escaped Mississippi inmate in custody after hourslong standoff at Chicago restaurant
- What’s for breakfast? At Chicago hotel hosting DNC event, there may have been mealworms
- 'Wanted' posters plastered around University of Rochester target Jewish faculty members
- Honoring Malcolm X: supporters see $20M as ‘down payment’ on struggle to celebrate Omaha native
Ranking
- Study finds Wisconsin voters approved a record number of school referenda
- Megalopolis Trailer Featuring Fake Film Critic Quotes Pulled Amid Controversy
- Hungary says it will provide free tickets to Brussels for migrants trying to enter the EU
- See Gisele Bündchen's Sweet Message to Tom Brady's Son Jack
- Jury awards Abu Ghraib detainees $42 million, holds contractor responsible
- Appeals panel upholds NASCAR penalty to Austin Dillon after crash-filled win
- 'Pommel horse guy' Stephen Nedoroscik joins 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 33
- Archaeologists in Virginia unearth colonial-era garden with clues about its enslaved gardeners
Recommendation
-
Joey Graziadei Details Why Kelsey Anderson Took a Break From Social Media
-
Don't want to Google it? These alternative search engines are worth exploring.
-
Best fantasy football value picks? Start with Broncos RB Javonte Williams
-
PHOTO COLLECTION: Election 2024 DNC Moments
-
Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani wins reelection to Arizona US House seat
-
Atlantic City casino earnings declined by 1.3% in 2nd quarter of 2024
-
TikTok’s “Dancing Engineer” Dead at 34 After Contracting Dengue Fever
-
Sicily Yacht Company CEO Shares Endless Errors That May Have Led to Fatal Sinking Tragedy