Merrill Lynch & Co. says some of its black employees and the Rev. Al Sharpton have been subjected to racist emails sent by someone posing as one of the company’s managers.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan yesterday, the world’s largest brokerage is suing a man known only as “John Doe.” It said it suspected he lives in the Midwest.
The emails started showing up in September in the email accounts of various black investment brokers, the lawsuit said.
The company said the emails have been created using Microsoft Corp.’s “Hotmail” email service and purports to be from a Merrill Lynch regional administrative manager. Merrill Lynch will seek a court order to obtain information about the email account.
Sharpton said he would seek to join the action.
The lawsuit seeks to stop the emails and unspecified damages.
