An African American woman has sued Wells Fargo, claiming bank staff at an Atlanta branch treated her like a criminal for "banking while black."

The lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta, contends that Wells Fargo staff falsely accused Clarice Middleton of attempting to cash a fraudulent check, called the police and then ordered her to leave the premises. The alleged incident occurred at a branch abutting Emory University's campus in a "predominantly white part" of Atlanta.

Middleton was attempting to cash a $200 corporate check payable to her when she was confronted by a bank teller and branch manager with baseless allegations that the check was fraudulent, according to the lawsuit.