"Fooled" is one way to say it, "complicit" might be another. One thing you can trust is that every one of them was acting in their own best interest, not yours.
This is a major life lesson on the concept of mistrust:
Any auditor can be fooled, any investment firm can be fooled, any analyst can be fooled, any Wall Street Business magazine (e.g. Forbes) can be misled, and any number of investors from all professional backgrounds can be fooled - Not just individually, but all of them simultaneously.