Boeing ordered to face June 23 fraud trial over 737 MAX crashes after plea deal collapse

Core Points - A federal judge has set a trial date for June 23 in the Justice Department's criminal fraud case against Boeing related to alleged misrepresentations about the 737 MAX [1] - Boeing previously agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and pay a fine of up to $487.2 million following two fatal crashes [2][5] - Boeing is reportedly seeking to withdraw the existing plea deal, while the Justice Department and Boeing are engaged in discussions for a resolution [3] Legal Proceedings - The plea deal included a commitment from Boeing to spend$455 million on safety and compliance improvements over three years, under court supervision [4] - Relatives of the victims from the crashes have criticized the plea agreement as insufficient and are urging for a full prosecution instead [6] - The Justice Department found Boeing had violated a previous agreement that protected it from prosecution, leading to the current charges [8] Industry Context - The ongoing legal issues highlight significant safety and quality concerns within Boeing, exacerbated by a recent incident involving an Alaska Airlines jet [8][11] - Officials have called for stricter regulatory measures against Boeing and the aviation industry as a whole [10]