(Bloomberg) — Wells Fargo & Co fired more than a dozen employees last month after investigating allegations they faked work.

The employees, all in the firm's wealth and investment management unit, “were dismissed following an investigation into claims that involved simulating keyboard activity giving the impression of active work,” according to statements filed with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

“Wells Fargo holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behavior,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

Devices and computer programs to mimic employee activity, sometimes known as “mouse movers” or “mouse movers,” took off during the pandemic-fueled work-from-home era, with people exchanging tips on using them in social media sites Reddit and TikTok. . Such devices are available on Amazon.com for less than $20.

It is unclear from Finra's findings whether the employees fired by Wells Fargo allegedly faked active work from home. The finance industry was among the most aggressive in ordering workers back to the office as the pandemic faded, although Wells Fargo waited longer than rivals JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

San Francisco-based Wells Fargo started looking employees to return to the office under a “flexible hybrid model” in early 2022. The bank now expects most employees to be in the office at least three days a week, with members of the management committee on four days and many employees, such as EG branch workers, are in five days.

The country's fourth largest lender has asked to grow in wealth management under Chief Executive Charlie Scharf and his deputy, Barry Sommers, who joined the firm in 2020. The unit was hit particularly hard by a series of scandals that erupted in 2016, sending advisers fleeing by the thousands, get profitable customers with them.

The last holidays have echoes of another episode at Wells Fargo from 2018, when the firm investigated employees at its investment bank for alleged violations of its expense policy after they tried to get the company to pay for inappropriate evening meals.