WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice

Department plans to meet with the families of the of the victims

of two Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people as

the government decides whether to move ahead with a criminal

case, relatives of the victims said.

Boeing ( BA ) won immunity from criminal prosecution as part of the

$2.5 billion Justice Department agreement struck in January 2021

over a 737 MAX fraud conspiracy charge related to the plane's

flawed design. Boeing ( BA ) had to abide by the terms of the agreement

for a three-year period that ended on Jan. 7.

Boeing ( BA ) declined comment.

The Justice Department is deciding whether the Jan. 5, 2024

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 mid-air emergency and

Boeing's ( BA ) conduct breaches the agreement, which could allow the

Justice Department to move forward with a criminal case against

the company.

The Justice Department has until July 7 to make a decision.

The department is holding a meeting with relatives on April

24, said Michael Stumo, whose daughter was killed in the March

2019 Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 crash. "They were bludgeoned

into recognizing us as victims," Stumo said, who was invited and

plans to attend the meeting.

The Seattle Times reported the planned meeting earlier.

The Justice Department, which declined to comment on the

meeting, in 2022 updated its guidelines for notifying victims of

potential crimes after relatives of those killed in Boeing 737

MAX 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019.

The relatives said their legal rights had been violated

after the government had failed to meet with crash victims'

relatives before the department struck the Boeing ( BA ) plea deal.

Attorney General Merrick Garland met with family members in

January 2022 and the department apologized after the depatment's

own victims' rights ombudsman in 2020 "conveyed inaccurate

information" to representatives of the families.

The Justice Department said in 2021 "misleading statements,

half-truths, and omissions communicated by Boeing ( BA ) employees to

the FAA impeded the government's ability to ensure the safety of

the flying public."

Last month, the FBI told passengers on the Alaska MAX 9 that

they may be victims of a crime, according to letters seen by

Reuters.

The letters said the FBI has identified the passengers "as a

possible victim of a crime" and that the agency is currently

investigating the case but would not disclose more information

on its ongoing probe.