NEW YORK — Moody’s Corp. has agreed to pay nearly $864 million to settle federal and state claims it gave inflated ratings to risky mortgage investments in the years leading up to the financial crisis.
Connecticut was the first state to sue Moody’s in 2010 and will receive $31,519,461 million in the settlement, which will go to the state’s general fund.
The deal announced Friday was struck among the New York-based rating agency, the Justice Department and the attorneys general for 21 states and the District of Columbia.
It calls for $437.5 million to go to the Justice Department and $426.3 million to be divided among the states and the District of Columbia.
Moody’s — along with the other two major rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch — were widely criticized for giving low-risk ratings to the risky mortgage securities being sold ahead of the crisis, while they reaped lucrative fees.
