https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/07/doj-fines-boeing-over-2point5-billion-charges-it-with-fraud-conspiracy-over-737-max-crashes.html Skip Navigation logo logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * 2020 Elections CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * PRO News * PRO Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu * Make It * Select * USA * INTL Search quotes, news & videos SIGN IN logo Markets * Pre-Markets * U.S. Markets * Currencies * Cryptocurrency * Futures & Commodities * Bonds * Funds & ETFs Business * Economy * Finance * Health & Science * Media * Real Estate * Energy * Transportation * Industrials * Retail * Wealth * Life * Small Business Investing * Invest In You * Personal Finance * Fintech * Financial Advisors * Trading Nation * Options Action * ETF Street * Buffett Archive * Earnings * Trader Talk Tech * Cybersecurity * Enterprise * Internet * Media * Mobile * Social Media * Venture Capital * Tech Guide Politics * White House * Policy * Defense * Congress * 2020 Elections CNBC TV * Live TV * Live Audio * Business Day Shows * The News with Shepard Smith * Entertainment Shows * Full Episodes * Latest Video * Top Video * CEO Interviews * CNBC Documentaries * CNBC Podcasts * CNBC World * Digital Originals * Live TV Schedule Watchlist PRO * PRO News * PRO Live * Subscribe * Sign In Menu Aerospace & Defense Boeing to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal conspiracy charges over 737 Max Published Thu, Jan 7 20214:09 PM ESTUpdated Thu, Jan 7 20215:56 PM EST Leslie Josephs@lesliejosephs ShareShare Article via FacebookShare Article via TwitterShare Article via LinkedInShare Article via Email Key Points * Boeing agreed to pay a $2.5 billion fine to settle criminal conspiracy charges, ending a roughly two-year investigation. * The Justice Department said Boeing employees concealed information about the aircraft's onboard software from regulators that had originally approve the planes. * Two 737 Max planes crashed within five months of one another in 2018 and 2019, killing all 346 people on board. VIDEO1:4101:41 Boeing has agreed to pay over $2.5B on its deferred prosecution agreement Closing Bell Boeing agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal charges with the U.S. Justice Department, which accused the company of concealing information about its 737 Max airplane that was involved in two crashes that claimed 346 lives, federal prosecutors announced Thursday. Prosecutors said Boeing "knowingly and willfully" conspired to defraud the United States by undermining the Federal Aviation Administration's ability to evaluate the safety of the plane. Boeing admitted that two 737 flight technical pilots "deceived" the FAA about the capabilities of a flight-control system on the planes, a software that was later implicated in the two crashes, the Justice Department said. The deferred prosecution agreement closes the DOJ's roughly two-year probe and drops all charges after three years if there aren't additional violations. The $2.51 billion fine consists of a $243.6 million criminal penalty, a $500 million fund for crash-victims family members and $1.77 billion for its airline customers. The company said it already accounted for a bulk of those costs in prior quarters and expects to take a $743.6 million charge in its fourth-quarter 2020 earnings to cover the rest. "The tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 exposed fraudulent and deceptive conduct by employees of one of the world's leading commercial airplane manufacturers," Acting Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, wrote in a release. "Boeing's employees chose the path of profit over candor by concealing material information from the FAA concerning the operation of its 737 Max airplane and engaging in an effort to cover up their deception." The crashes plunged Boeing into its worst-ever crisis, sparking a worldwide grounding of its best-selling plane, numerous investigations and hurting the reputation of one what was the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer. Last month, the FAA approved software and other safety changes Boeing made to the planes, clearing airlines to start flying them again. The company admitted to the wrongdoing and waived its rights to a trial as part of its deal with DOJ to settle the charges. The agreement also didn't implicate top executives there, saying the misconduct wasn't pervasive nor were senior managers involved. "This is a substantial settlement of a very serious matter, and I firmly believe that entering into this resolution is the right thing for us to do -- a step that appropriately acknowledges how we fell short of our values and expectations," CEO Dave Calhoun said in a note to Boeing employees. Boeing shares were down less than 1% in afterhours trading. 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