After refusing to a deal that would have cost it 1 billion and an admission of wrongdoing, S&P is sued by the government for 5 billion. Film at 11.
Essentially, under the laws used to prosecute during the S&L scandal, and because criminal prosecutions didn't get anywhere, the government is suing S&P under the FIRREA act for it's ratings issued on mortgage securities that lead to the financial crisis.
The United States said S&P inflated ratings and understated risks associated with mortgage securities, driven by a desire to gain more business from the investment banks that issued those securities. S&P committed fraud by falsely claiming its ratings were objective, the lawsuit said.
Hopefully, if we can't get these jerks in jail, maybe we can get them in the only other things sociopaths care about, their wallets. S&P for their part, are claiming it's without merit (I know you're shocked). The lawsuit will likely take years, we've got four, maybe more if Hillary runs for president. Here's hoping to sinking, or at least damaging, a few battleships.
8:14 PM PT: http://uk.reuters.com/...
For some reason, links keep failing. so here's the article in txt print. I suspect PEBKAC is the cause.