If Patrick had only classified his investment thing as a managed hedge/mutual fund, with returns based on his investment skills as opposed to fixed interest "savings account" style returns, none of this would have been a problem. Losses would have had to be taken by the customers instead of Patrick, and his returns would have been consistent with the average hedge fund (lesson: don't invest in bitcoins, people. You'll save time by just flushing your money down the toilet).
the "average" hedge fund managed by a well-educated, certified professional typically grow at 3% per
year.
Bitcoin "investments" claim to be capable of 5-7% per
week, then typically collapse a month later with the 'manager' disappearing with all the 'investors'' money.
Truly, it's the dirty fiat currency that has the problem here.
Although Moody's and S&P were hammered in 2009 for not downgrading US debt sooner, they do a very thorough review of a company's financials before issuing a rating. I would be shocked if Patrick's review was more than a couple of PM's. "Hey man, is your investment going to collapse?" "No, dude." "Good enough, AAAA+++ rating for you!"