U.S. v. Standard & Poor’s
Standard & Poor’s Rating Services agreed on Feb. 3 to pay $1.5 billion to settle charges that it cheated investors by issuing inflated ratings that misrepresented the true credit risks of securities. The settlement is the largest penalty ever recovered from a rating agency. Of the total, $687.5 million will go to resolve a 2013 suit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, $687.5 million will go to settle suits by 19 states and the District of Columbia and, in a separate settlement, $125 million will go to satisfy claims by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
