After an investigation lasting almost two years, the Justice Department levied what it called a $2.5 billion fine on Boeing and agreed to a deferred prosecution of one count of criminal fraud conspiracy, stemming from its two pilots’ inaccurate representations to the FAA about how the MCAS software worked. The bulk of the fine, though, came from compensation payments of $1.77 billion to customers and $500 million in settlements to victims’ families—most of which it was likely to pay anyway. The amount of the criminal penalty was only $243.6 million, which, as the complaint noted, was about
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