It was after midnight last Wednesday in Paris when Catherine Berthet learned U.S. federal prosecutors had made a decision she hoped could deliver justice for her daughter, Camille Geoffroy.

Berthet pinned the blame for her daughter’s death on Boeing, the maker of the 737 Max jet that carried the 28-year-old and 345 other people to their deaths because of a flawed control system.

While the Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 left Boeing with a scarred reputation and billions of dollars in legal bills, fines and losses, the company cut an unusual plea deal with federal prosecutors to avoid a criminal conviction. If it met conditions negotiated with the Justice Department until Jan. 7 of this year, Boeing could avoid further sanctions and yet another black mark related to the disaster.

The families who lost loved ones when two Renton, Washington-built 737 Max planes crashed have talked almost daily for roughly five years strategizing about how to hold Boeing accountable.

The families contend the agreement Boeing signed with federal prosecutors violated their rights as crime victims, because the Justice Department did not consult them before making the deal. And, the families say, it let Boeing off easy.

That group has been waiting three years for the deal to expire, opening a window for the Justice Department to determine whether Boeing complied with the agreement. If it had not, the manufacturer could face criminal charges for the Max crashes.

Late last Tuesday, Berthet, 56, had just finished the five-hour drive back to Paris from her mother’s house, where she often stays for a week at a time to help with caregiving, when she saw a letter from the Justice Department’s Victim Witness Unit.

Boeing, the letter said, had violated the terms of the agreement.

Berthet had to read it twice.

Her phone pinged with messages from other families asking if this could really be true.

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