July 24 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) finalized a guilty

plea to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge and agreed to pay a

$243.6 million fine after it breached a 2021 deferred

prosecution agreement with the U.S. Justice Department,

according to a court filing on Wednesday.

The planemaker allowed potentially risky work at its

factories and did not ensure key airplane record keeping was

accurate or complete, the Justice Department said as it outlined

why it believed the planemaker had violated the 2021 deal.

Boeing ( BA ) on July 7 agreed in principle to plead guilty to

conspiring to defraud the Federal Aviation Administration after

the government said the planemaker knowingly made false

representations about key software for the 737 MAX.

Boeing ( BA ) confirmed on Wednesday that it had filed a detailed

plea agreement with the Justice Department. "We will continue to

work transparently with our regulators as we take significant

actions across Boeing ( BA ) to further strengthen our safety, quality

and compliance programs," the company said.

The Justice Department said in May that Boeing ( BA ) had breached

its obligations in the agreement that shielded the planemaker

from criminal prosecution stemming from misrepresentations about

a key software feature tied to fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and

2019 that killed 346 people.

The finding was made in the wake of a January in-flight

panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX that exposed

continuing safety and quality issues at Boeing ( BA ), just two days

before the 2021 agreement shielding it from prosecution over the

previous fatal crashes expired.

DOCUMENTATION NOT COMPLETED

The Justice Department said in its court filing that Boeing ( BA )

failed to ensure employees documented removal of parts during

manufacturing of an airplane and it did not ensure mechanics and

inspectors who stamped they completed work had actually done so.

The Justice Department said Boeing ( BA ) in April disclosed

false stamping at its 787 plant in South Carolina by some

employees. The FAA said in May it was investigating after Boeing ( BA )

said some employees at the plant had committed "misconduct" by

claiming some tests had been completed.

Boeing ( BA ) also did not ensure work on airplanes was

conducted in the proper sequence, the Justice Department said.

"Boeing ( BA ) senior executives prioritized the movement of

aircraft through Boeing's ( BA ) factories over reducing

out-of-sequence work to ensure production quality," the filing

said. "Out-of-sequence work is more difficult to perform (and)

increases the risk that defects in manufacturing will occur."

The Justice Department has a separate criminal probe ongoing

into the Alaska Airlines jet that was missing four key bolts.

Boeing ( BA ) has said no paperwork detailing the removal of the bolts

was completed.

As part of the guilty plea deal, the planemaker agreed

to spend at least $455 million over the next three years to

boost safety and compliance programs, said the filing, adding

that was 75% higher than Boeing's ( BA ) previously planned

expenditures on its corporate compliance program.

Families of those killed in the MAX crashes will be able

to file objections within a week before Judge Reed O'Connor, who

will decide whether to accept the deal and determine if Boeing ( BA )

owes restitution to the victims' relatives.

Boeing's ( BA ) board will have to meet with the relatives within

four months of sentencing, the filing added.

The deal also imposes an independent monitor, who will

have to publicly file annual progress reports, to oversee the

firm's compliance. Boeing ( BA ) will be on probation during the

monitor's three-year term and it can be extended by a year if

Boeing ( BA ) does not comply with the terms.