The U.S. Justice Department has told Boeing Co. that it will charge the planemaker with fraud, leaving the company to choose between pleading guilty or taking the risk of going to trial, according to people familiar with the matter.
Boeing will have until July 5 to decide whether to plead guilty to the charges, the department told the families of victims of two fatal 737 Max crashes and their attorneys in a meeting June 30, according to the people who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. The department has also told Boeing it will have to pay a fine and have a corporate monitor.
The Justice Department declined to comment.