Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from two crashes of 737 Max jetliners that killed 346 people after the government determined the company violated an agreement that had protected it from prosecution for more than three years, the Justice Department said.

By Chris Prentice, Mike Spector and David Shepardson NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of $243.6 million to resolve a U.

As part of the deal, stemming from fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, the company agreed to pay a fine of nearly half a billion dollars and strengthen its safety programs.