WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice

Department said on Friday it has struck a deal in principle with

Boeing ( BA ) to allow it to avoid prosecution in a fraud case stemming

from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes that killed 346 people.

The agreement allows Boeing ( BA ) to avoid being branded a

convicted felon and is a blow to families who lost relatives in

the crashes and had pressed prosecutors to take the U.S.

planemaker to trial.

Boeing ( BA ) has agreed to pay an additional $444.5 million into a

crash victims' fund that would be divided evenly per crash

victim on top of an additional $243.6 million fine.

The Justice Department expects to file the written agreement

with Boeing ( BA ) by the end of next week.