Better Business Bureau Issues Mea Culpa for Pay-to-Play Ratings

The Better Business Bureau has issued a mea culpa over a series of egregious missteps in its ratings system that included giving top grades to two fake companies set up to prove the organization favors any business that pays its accreditation fees.

In exchange for $425, a dummy company named "Hamas" became an accredited BBB member and got an A- rating, while a neo-Nazi website called Stormfront got an A+. Oblivious to the terror group reference, the BBB listed the former as a business "providing educational programs for troubled youth."