[rayiner]

When party A sells party B a crappy product with overinflated promises, the result is a civil suit, not a DOJ criminal prosecution. In any event, what does Equifax have to do with that? Was Equifax rating mortgages or something? Is it a bank?

[winstonsmith]

When the creation and representation of crappy products entails fraud or other crimes the result would actually include criminal prosecutions by the DOJ (in a world where the DOJ weren't captured by party A's industry). Tying the two scandals together is the influence of the finance industry on regulation and enforcement through the revolving door, in both cases to the same law firm representing financial institutions.

[rayiner]

Fraud can be either civil or criminal, depending on the circumstances. Where sophisticated parties are on both sides of the transaction, and the allegations of fraud boil down to complex questions regarding representations about the product, it's a civil matter, not a criminal matter. The fact that the DOJ correctly interpreted the law instead of trying to satisfy peoples' bloodlust isn't a "scandal."