AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- Maine will soon receive a check for more than $21.5 million as part of the Standard & Poor's settlement with the Department of Justice.
Attorney General Janet Mills announced Wednesday the settlement with the credit rating company S&P over its involvement in the 2008 housing collapse, which led to the recession.
The state's lawsuit alleged that S&P gave rosy ratings to investments banks made, such as residential mortgage backed securities and credit default options.
The State of Maine's $21.5 million is a slice of the total settlement of $1.4 billion, which is being distributed to the U.S. Department of Justice and the 19 other states and District of Columbia that sued S&P.
"It sends the message to Wall Street that we will not tolerate acts that deceive investors and that devastate our economy," Mills said. "I will continue to work to promote transparency and to protect the integrity of our financial system."
Another term of the settlement is that Mills and the other attorney generals involved in the lawsuit will be able to monitor S&P's future actions and have the right to demand more information about its ratings.
