Boeing’s troubles have hit a new low as the US Department of Justice prepares to charge the company with criminal fraud over the 737 Max crashes, giving Boeing a week to decide whether to plead guilty or risk going to trial. As Boeing faces a potential half-billion-dollar fine and a three-year corporate monitor, it is also finalizing a $4.7 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, its supplier for the faulty 737 Max parts. This scandal, coupled with leadership shakeups and ongoing safety issues, has left the once-iconic aerospace giant grappling with a damaged reputation and uncertain future.
Boeing has finally reached rock bottom.
The US Department of Justice will charge Boeing with criminal fraud, according to Bloomberg, forcing the planemaker to choose between pleading guilty or risking a trial, just as the corporation completes its $4.7 billion acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems.
Boeing has until the end of the week to decide whether to plead guilty to the charge, the department told the relatives of two fatal 737 Max crashes and their attorneys in a conference Sunday, according to Bloomberg, citing “people who asked not to be named.”
However, contrary to speculation that the DOJ would seek a pound of flesh from the Chicago-based planemaker, the department will only pursue a proverbial slap on the write as it informs Boeing that it will have to pay an additional criminal fine of only $243.6 million on top of the $243.6 million already paid with a 2021 deferred-prosecution agreement, bringing the total amount of fine close to $500 million, or roughly the price of five of the giant paperweights better known as 737 They also stated that the corporation will need to engage a corporate monitor for three years.
Officials from the Justice Department’s fraud department and the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas attended the conference on Sunday, according to an email obtained by Bloomberg. Paul Cassell, an attorney representing the relatives of the crash victims, described the department’s offer to Boeing as a “sweetheart plea deal.”
“The deal will not acknowledge, in any way, that Boeing’s crime killed 346 people,” according to an email he sent. “The families will strenuously object to this plea deal.”
The penalties the agency will seek fall far short of the families’ request for almost $25 billion, with $14 billion to $22 billion suspended provided Boeing puts the monies to an independent corporate monitor and safety program enhancements. In reality, the overall punishment is far less than the monetary damages imposed on Alex Jones, even though no one died as a result of Jones’ program.
A guilty plea to criminal charges, whether sweetheart or not, would be a low point in Boeing’s century-long history and a stunning development for a company that was once renowned for its cautious, straight-laced culture. This has since devolved into a DEI-driven, virtue-signaling nightmare, culminating in planes “designed by clowns…supervised by monkeys.”
The plea deal, according to Bloomberg, “raises concerns over US government contracts for the company at a time when Boeing needs its defense division to counteract plunging revenue at its commercial airplane business.” Of course, it is not even remotely true, as the deep state is directly involved in utilizing taxpayer dollars to pay off companies such as Boeing for continuing the US war machine while collecting its 10% commission indefinitely.
The discussion comes after the Justice Department found that the planemaker breached the 2021 deferred prosecution deal reached between Boeing and the government in the final days of the Trump administration. The agreement permitted Boeing to avoid criminal prosecution as long as certain terms were followed. However, in May, the department determined that the corporation had failed to meet a requirement to develop an effective compliance program to prevent and detect violations of US fraud laws. Boeing informed the DOJ that it disagreed with the findings.
At the same time, the planemaker is amid a leadership shakeup as it hunts for a new CEO to succeed Dave Calhoun, who wants to leave the post later this year but not before receiving a $33 million bonus for… it’s unclear what.
To make things even more difficult for outside observers to keep track of, Boeing agreed to acquire Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion on Sunday, according to Reuters, citing two people familiar with the matter, capping months of talks over a deal the US planemaker hopes will help ease a spiraling safety crisis.
Boeing will pay $37.25 per share for Spirit Aero in an all-stock transaction after the boards of Boeing and Spirit met on Sunday and agreed to terms. An official announcement is expected early Monday. Spirit will be valued at roughly $4.7 billion following the deal.
The deal, which is pending regulatory approval, would result in the dissolution of Spirit, with some of the Kansas-based supplier’s assets sold to French planemaker Airbus.
Boeing is attempting to overcome a year of challenges caused by a Jan. 5 mid-air explosion of a door plug on a new 737 MAX 9 jet, which revealed numerous safety and quality issues. These concerns have resulted in a significant drop in output at Boeing, reverberating throughout the worldwide commercial aviation industry.
And, since two wrongs can make a right, Spirit, which was spun off from Boeing in 2005 as part of a series of steps critics say exemplified a focus on cost-cutting above quality, is the producer of the faulty door plug. Instead of punishing its supplier, Boeing is rewarding it by acquiring it, ensuring that its DEI-infused workforce can kill even more people.
Boeing decided to purchase back Spirit in the aftermath of the Jan. 5 incident, which occurred on an Alaska Airlines aircraft, as part of an effort to address safety concerns and strengthen its production line. Previously, Boeing contemplated paying $35.50 per share in cash for Spirit, but this was increased to $37.25 when the transaction was converted to stock. The terms of Spirit’s concurrent plan to sell its European business to Airbus were not immediately evident.
Purchasing Spirit Aero will not immediately fix Boeing’s difficulties. Following the January door plug incident, the Federal Aviation Administration capped the manufacture of Boeing’s best-selling MAX jets.
With the flying public’s trust in Boeing at an all-time low, the once-iconic US firm has been losing market share to Airbus for years, and it is still dealing with the fallout from twin tragedies that killed almost 350 people and prompted the 737 MAX to be grounded.
These incidents prompted the appointment of current CEO Dave Calhoun, who was brought in to handle the manufacturer’s problems but will leave later this year with the company facing increased regulatory scrutiny and a tarnished reputation.
On June 18, US lawmakers strongly reprimanded Calhoun for the planemaker’s safety difficulties and frequently questioned his remuneration. Some airlines have publicly and privately expressed their dissatisfaction with Boeing over delivery delays and other issues.
Boeing has presented a thorough plan to the FAA to solve “systemic quality-control issues” within the firm. We can’t wait to find out what percentage of its workers must be women and minorities following the “quality control” makeover.
Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that a whistleblower complaint by Sam Mohawk, revealed in June 2023, alleges that Boeing concealed defective parts from the FAA, installed some in new 737 planes, and lost track of others.
