In a Feb. 1 letter, U.S. Senate Banking Committee democrats called on Wells Fargo & Co. President and CEO Timothy Sloan, to respond to allegations that the bank tried to cover its tracks by shredding and forging documents tied to its fake accounts scandal.

The letter — signed by six democrats including Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. — refers to a Jan. 24 article by The Wall Street Journal about the company giving its branch officials a 24-hour heads-up before internal inspections, which reportedly gave some employees time to hide any evidence about improper practices. Sloan is asked to give his answers to 15 questions by Feb. 17.

"We are troubled by the possibility that Wells Fargo's retail bank branch managers engaged in activities that made it easier to conceal fraudulent practices that hurt both customers and employees," the senators wrote.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman could not immediately comment on the matter, according to the Journal. The bank, however, announced that it plans to stop warning branches of inspections after said WSJ article came out.