Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has sued insurance brokerage firm Acordia and its parent company Wells Fargo Bank for steering their customers to insurance companies that paid for the business with undisclosed kickbacks.

According to the lawsuit, the practice of steering business represented a significant conflict of interest, placing Acordia's own financial interests ahead of the well-being of its clients.

The lawsuit details how Acordia allegedly conspired with several insurance companies, known as Acordia's "Millennium Partners," to steer customers to them in exchange for secret payments. Acordia's top management, including its then-CEO, Robert Nevins, is alleged to have actively participated in the Millennium Partners scheme.

When insurance companies refused to make the improper payments, according to the lawsuit, Acordia's management punished them by steering customers away from them and towards insurers who did pay kickbacks.

Wells Fargo participated directly in Acordia's fraud. In one scheme, Wells Fargo agreed to “funnel” its own retail banking clients to Acordia for advice about insurance coverage. Wells Fargo did so with the understanding that Acordia, in turn, would steer this additional business to The Hartford, an insurance company that paid Acordia for such steering.