Fitch, Moody's, S&P Were Quite Obviously Pulling A Jimmy Cayne For Most Of The Years Leading Up To The Financial Crisis, Allege Bear Stearns Hedge Fund Liquidators

The liquidators want $1 billion for investors and the name of the rating agencies' dealer for a friend.

The liquidators of two Bear Stearns hedge funds filed a lawsuit on Monday against the three major U.S. rating agencies, accusing them of fraudulently assigning inflated ratings to securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. The lawsuit seeks to recover more than $1 billion from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings to cover losses sustained by the hedge funds. The complaint filed in New York state court in Manhattan cites messages and emails by employees of the rating agencies to help build a case that the agencies misrepresented their independence and objectivity. "It could be structured by cows and we would rate it," the 141-page lawsuit quotes an S&P employee as messaging a colleague...The latest case was brought by the liquidators of Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies (Overseas) Ltd and Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage (Overseas) Ltd. All three rating agencies said in statements that the allegations were "without merit."

Moody's, S&P and Fitch sued over failed Bear Stearns funds [Reuters]