Catering without the permits

I don't understand people that want to risk it, running an illegal catering operation out of an unlicensed kitchen.  Do they not understand the danger they put themselves in?  Let's face it, 99% of the time their food is going to be fine and no one is going to get sick, but just "what if...."?  Do they not understand the financial ruin they face if they make someone sick and don't have the insurance to cover it?  There is no way they will be able to afford the lawyer fees to defend themselves, let alone the legal costs, and the massive lawsuit that they will surely lose.  They don't even have to be the ones to make someone sick.  That person could get food poisoning from something else, but if they attribute it to the illegal  caterer and call the authorities, that caterer is still SOL.  Or what if the caterer allows the client to take the food home and he/she then stores it improperly and gets sick.  That illegal caterer might just avoid a huge lawsuit, but it's going to cost them thousands upon thousands of dollars to defend themselves in court, and again don't forget any fees resulting from their illegal business.  Seems like the possible risk way outweighs the potential profit.  Just seems rather stupid to me.