Wasn't it becasue they took any kind of job, that the CW believed they were dirty criminals?
No, it's primarily because Bethesda wanted an excuse to make them auto-hostile, and crudely wrote up an excuse, hired by some "unknown third party" to "cause chaos", nothing else, and viola, generic "evil" cannon fodder for mid-tier loot, thanks Bethesda, ruined a faction with a lot of potential.