“Misleading statements” is doing a lot work here.

When we’re talking about organizations who exist solely in the realm of toying with people’s finances, a “misleading statement” is nothing more than a lie. They were misleading people. There is a reason some things come along with incredibly complex language to explain the nuances of what is actually happening as accurately as possible.

We can’t attempt to downplay “misleading statement” in an effort to misdirect away from why they were misleading people.