Bond Fraud  Most investors equate the word “bond” with safety
or, at the very least, they think an investment in a bond, be it
municipal or corporate, is safer than an investment in equity.
Unfortunately, this is only partially correct. While it is true
that bondholders have a better chance of getting paid in the
event of a bankruptcy than shareholders, there are many risks in
bonds and it always pays to dig a little deeper.  When an
investor buys a bond, the investor is lending money to someone
(the government or a private company) who promises to pay back
the money when the bond matures, plus interest. Whether a
company defaults on its bonds or not depends on its ability to
pay back its debt. The ability of the bond issuer to meet this
obligation is expressed in the bond’s credit rating.
Historically, bonds that had high credit ratings were known as
investment-grade bonds, while bonds that had low credit ratings
were known as non-investment grade or speculative bonds. Bonds
are rated by ratings agencies, su