The Justice Department is preparing to charge Boeing with fraud after prosecutors accused the company of failing to implement an agreed-upon anti-fraud compliance program following two fatal plane crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019, Forbes reported.

The Forbes article, which cites multiple reports from anonymous sources familiar with the matter, says the Justice Department will reportedly give Boeing until the end of the week to decide whether the company will plead guilty or go to trial. A deal would likely include the appointment of a monitor to oversee Boeing's compliance with fraud laws.

In 2021, Boeing paid a $243 million fine but avoided criminal charges related to plane crashes by agreeing to develop and implement a program to detect and prevent violations of the federal anti-fraud law. However, recent investigations following an Alaska Airlines in-flight incident found that the company had failed to meet these anti-fraud requirements.

On Sunday, the Justice Department reportedly met with the families of the crash victims to discuss a possible settlement with Boeing. Neither the Justice Department nor Boeing responded to Forbes' request for comment on Sunday, the newspaper said.

A total of 346 people were killed in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes in October 2018 and March 2019. The first crash, a Lion Air flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia, was blamed on a combination of design flaws in the aircraft, maintenance problems and inadequate pilot training.

The second crash, an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Ethiopia to Kenya, occurred shortly after takeoff due to a malfunction of the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System. Following these incidents, all 737 Max aircraft were grounded from March 2019 to December 2020 after CEO Dave Calhoun promised to improve safety and transparency within the company.

In January, more than 170 Boeing 737 Max 9s were grounded after a panel on an Alaska Airlines plane came loose in flight, revealing missing screws. The incident sparked a series of investigations at Boeing that revealed further manufacturing and quality defects.

The recent investigations have left Boeing in financial trouble. The company paid Alaska Airlines $160 million to make up for lost profits from the incident and now faces a production curtailment of the 737 Max ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Boeing reported a loss of $355 million in the first quarter and is expected to spend $8 billion this year to make up for the production decline.

In addition, the company will lose both its CEO and its board member later this year.

Boeing's stock price has fallen 30% so far this year, from $260.66 to $182.01 per share on Friday, reflecting the significant challenges the company faces amid ongoing scrutiny and litigation.