Spitzer to Expand Insurance Probe in Matter of Weeks

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will expand his wide-ranging investigations into the investment management industry through a new suit against the insurance industry in early January, a spokesman for Spitzer told MSNBC. The spokesman, Darren Dopp, called reports false that Spitzer planned to back off his investigation into the financial services industry in light of his gubernatorial run. Both The New York Times and Financial Times reported over the past few days that Spitzer planned to "cede" his investigation to federal regulators.

Spitzer will bring yet another case against the insurance industry in "the first or second week of January," Dopp said. The attorney general brought his first case against the insurance industry in October, when he sued Marsh & McLennan for bid rigging and price fixing.

The notion that Spitzer would forfeit his duties "is absurd," according to a statement from his office.