Boeing To Pay $2.5B to Settle U.S. Criminal Probe Into 737 Max Crashes By David Shepardson, Eric M. Johnson and Tracy Rucinski | January 8, 2021 WASHINGTON/SEATTLE/CHICAGO — Boeing Co will pay more than $2.5 billion in fines and compensation after reaching a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over two plane crashes that killed a total of 346 people and led to the grounding of its 737 MAX jetliner. The settlement, which allows Boeing to avoid prosecution, includes a fine of $243.6 million, compensation to airlines of $1.77 billion and a $500 million crash-victim fund over fraud conspiracy charges related to the plane’s flawed design.