According to multiple news outlets -- citing people familiar with the situation -- the feds are actively urging the senior Justice Department officials to criminally charge Boeing honchos for allegedly violating a settlement the aircraft giant struck back in 2021.

That agreement was something Boeing and the Justice Dept. came to terms over in connection to two fatal crashes from 2018 and 2019 ... and at the time, Boeing said they'd strictly abide by certain guidelines and terms to avoid a potential fraud charge.

The federal government was amenable to that back then, but at this point ... it sounds like they believe Boeing has screwed the pooch, and might need to be dragged before a judge.

It's unclear what charges, if any, the feds would potentially pursue -- and no decision has been made just yet on this ... but reports indicate the Justice Dept. has until July 7 to announce what they plan to do, based on the official recommendation they've received.

There are other options the Dept. can go with here, BTW ... they could draft up a harsher agreement with Boeing and demand they stick to it as it pertains to safety measures -- but considering how many problems they've had of late, it's hard to say if that'd work.

In addition the seemingly countless problems -- both up in the air and even leaving the ground -- that Boeing planes have experienced around the globe ... there've also been accusations of them retaliating against whistleblowers who've attempted to speak out.

Last week ... Boeing's CEO, Dave Calhoun, went to Capitol Hill and testified before Congress ... where he acknowledged his company had a history of trying to silence truth-tellers.

One of those guys was John Barnett -- who was sounding the alarm ... claiming that his former company had cut corners on the assembly line -- and amid settlement talks with Boeing, he reportedly took his own life ... which drew outrage as well as confusion.