Many of the victims who lost 346 family members in two Boeing crashes of 737 MAX 8 planes met for two hours with the U.S. Department of Justice today. They discussed what has been called a sweetheart plea agreement that a Texas federal judge rejected on December 5, 2025, regarding the aircraft manufacturer’s admitted criminal conduct in defrauding the Federal Aviation Administration in the certification of the faulty aircraft.
Paul Cassell, attorney for the families in this case and professor of the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, said of today’s meeting with Glenn Leon, DOJ’s Chief of the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division, “The Justice Department held a ‘conferral session’ today, but didn’t truly confer at all. Judge Reed O’Connor rejected Boeing’s sweetheart plea deal in its entirety. Hopefully, the Department will do the right thing and come up with a new plea agreement that holds Boeing and its then-executives accountable for criminally causing two plane crashes that killed 346 people.”
U.S. District Court Judge O’Connor of Texas wrote in a 12-page opinion on December 5, 2024, despite a deferred prosecution agreement to allow Boeing to correct its errors, that over the last three years, “it is fair to say the government’s attempt to assure [Boeing’s] compliance has failed.”
Family members also reacted with great disappointment to today’s meeting:
Javier de Luis of Massachusetts, said, “At today’s ‘conferral’ session, the DOJ once again managed to not answer almost all the questions the families posed. It appears the DOJ is continuing to push forward with this flawed plea bargain, which fails to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 people, including my sister Gachi. If they do so, Judge O’Connor needs to reject this agreement and remind the DOJ that their ultimate responsibility is to act in the public interest and ensure Boeing stops producing flawed aircraft in order to prop up their stock price. They are gambling with our lives.”
Ike Riffel of California, who lost his two sons Melvin and Bennett in the second crash in March 2019, said, “The conferral session with the DOJ today was very disappointing. The DOJ continues to not recognize the deaths of 346 people. The only thing that DOJ is protecting is Boeing. I hope the Judge will see through this and do the right thing.”
Chris Moore of Canada said, “At today’s meeting, Glenn Leon stated that DOJ has not made a decision on how to proceed and stated that he is open to more information that is considered evidence. They have recently received information that should inculpate Boeing in hiding pertinent information about the condition of the specific plane that my daughter was on before it crashed. If they are doing their job, want justice, and are acting in the public interest, the DOJ will rescind the plea deal and move for a criminal trial to hold Boeing accountable for the deaths of 346 people.”
Paul Njoroge of Canada, who lost his entire family in the second crash 5 years ago in Ethiopia, also was on the call and said, “The conferral sessions we have had with the DOJ have not been convened for our voices to be heard. It is clear that the DOJ has always been adamant that Boeing killed my wife and children, my mother-in-law, and 341 other passengers and crew. The DOJ refuses to answer all questions asked by us as the victims and our legal representatives. The foundation of this Deferred Prosecution Agreement should be that 346 people died. The DOJ has not informed and refused to inform the judge that Boeing’s acts of fraud led to the death of our loved ones. The DOJ does not seek to hold Boeing accountable over the deaths of 346 people. We are aware that the NTSB is in possession of more damning information related to the two 737 Max crashes. The DOJ refuses to consider and inform the judge about that information. It is clear that the DOJ does not seek to hold Boeing accountable. The DOJ is not acting in the interest of the flying public.”
Paul Kiernan of Ireland, who lost his partner Joanna Toole, said, “I do not consider this session a conferral of any kind. I asked two very straightforward questions, neither of which were answered properly. In fact, it was clear that the DOJ was deliberately trying to avoid answering mine or many of the other questions that the families and our representatives were asking. The spirit of DOJ’s engagement in these sessions has always been one of obligation, and I have never felt that they were truly pursuing justice or improved aviation safety.”
Catherine Berthet of France, who lost her daughter, was vocal on today’s internet call, saying, “This ‘meet and confer’ was once again very disappointing. We are once again spectators of a great Reality Show prepared by the DOJ and hosted by Glenn Leon. Once again, we can only note that he never answers the victims’ questions or even those of their lawyers. He remained silent when faced to most of Paul Cassell’s questions. Actually, the DOJ doesn’t seem to have taken the measure of two words in Judge O’Connor’s decision: Rejected and Public Interest. He clearly behaved as if our questions were trivial, futile and irrelevant. He remained astonishingly silent in response to a question that must be answered one day: who is responsible for the deaths of 346 people, four months apart, on the same type of plane? Who killed my daughter in Ethiopia on March 10, 2019, who aspired to make the world a better place in Africa? Who made such a crime being possible? The plea deal does nothing to answer this question. The DOJ sidesteps the question and Glenn Leon bows his head when asked. Furthermore, and here again the DOJ remains silent, even though it is the first paragraph of Judge O’Connor’s decision: The plea deal is ‘against the public interest.’ The DOJ still refuses to take into account the documents we regularly send them, which show that Boeing’s planes were dangerous and that the then CEO, Dennis Muilenburg, knew it. The DOJ continues to let the public believe that crashes are due to pilot error. And Muilenburg’s successor, Dave Calhoun, persisted in Boeing’s denial of accountability and dangerous misconduct the led to the Alaska Airlines’ avoided door plug flying off in midair. As long as the DOJ continues down this path, the public interest will not be respected and the lives of millions of travelers will be at risk because, in the eyes of all the specialists, only a profound cultural change can make the skies safer: Truth, Accountability and Justice.”
Tomra Vecere of Massachusetts, who lost her brother Matt, said, “The DOJ refused to answer a simple question in their “conferral” session with the victims’ families: will you take into account the 346 lives lost when considering the plea deal with Boeing? What is the point of a corporate monitor for Boeing if not to prevent more plane crashes, more deaths, more mass graves?”
The plea deal of July 24 that is at issue called for Boeing to plead guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) during the certification process of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 of a new software system so that a less rigorous level of training for pilots would get the aircraft to market faster. One of the provisions of the sweetheart plea deal included a corporate monitor over a period of years of Boeing’s workings.
Family members have been considered crime victims under the federal Crime Victims’ Act by U.S. federal district Judge O’Connor, who is overseeing the criminal matter.
Family members expressed hope that the entire plea agreement will be rejected and the criminal case of fraud against Boeing will go to trial. The DOJ’s new plea deal is due to Judge O’Connor Jan. 4.
For further information or to speak to family members or their lawyers, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell) or pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com.