Yeah, the ratings companies and the US regulatory system pretty much rolled over for them.
Crying fraud once things blow up in your face is pretty disingenuous, since the same people were looking at all these deals and products with a wink and a nod a couple of years ago.
Granted, I have beef with the way corporations are allowed to operate in the US. But under current law, if you say, fine a coal mining corporation much, much less for a safety violation than the cost to fix the safety violation, you shouldn't be surprised by a catastrophic failure at some point.