What happened during the Merrill Lynch scandal?
Merrill Lynch was indicted for investment fraud following an investigation by N.Y. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Evidence was found that Merrill Lynch investment analysts had given favorable coverage to various failing corporations that happened to be Merrill Lynch investment banking clients. Henry Blodget, the company’s top Internet analyst, was discovered to have written internal e-mails berating companies that he was publicly giving accolades. Merrill Lynch paid a $100 million settlement to the state of New York in May of 2002. The firm was fined an additional $100 million following further SEC investigations.
