Wait, don't they huge fines paid by Chase, Goldman, and others, indicate that there was some criminal activity involved in how the banks assembled and sold the

Wait, don't they huge fines paid by Chase, Goldman, and others, indicate that there was some criminal activity involved in how the banks assembled and sold the CDOs? Why would the boards approve the settlements if there wasn't some kind of legally culpable behavior? I'm not one to advocate for prosecuting people for political reasons. But given how people from lesser socio-economic classes are incarcerated far too often for property crimes involving much smaller amount, it's hard not to perceive a hypocritical double standard at work here.