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February 5, 2013

S&P to Face Civil Charges for Faulty Ratings 
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The Justice Department is filing civil charges against the credit rating
agency Standard & Poor’s for improperly rating mortgage securities
leading up to the nation’s financial crisis. The charges would mark
the government's first enforcement action against a major credit ratings
agency to come out of the nation's near-economic collapse. But they
would only carry civil penalties of fines and new restrictions —
not jail time for top executives. Prosecutors reportedly decided to file
the civil case after S&P balked at paying fines of at least $1 billion.

 

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