The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that relatives of the victims of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes asked the U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday to seek a fine against the plane maker of up to $24.78-billion and move forward with a criminal prosecution (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe quotes Paul Cassel, a lawyer representing 15 families, writing in a letter to the Justice Department released on Wednesday, "Because Boeing's crime is the deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history, a Maximum fine of more than $24-billion is legally justified and clearly appropriate." The families said the Justice Department could potentially suspend $14-billion to $22-billion of the fine "on the condition that Boeing devote those suspended funds to an independent corporate monitor and related improvements in compliance and safety." The Justice Department said in May it found Boeing violated a 2021 deferred prosecution agreement that shielded the company from a criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud arising from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Boeing claims it did not violate the agreement. Federal prosecutors have until July 7 to inform a federal judge in Texas of their plans.
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