U.S. Senate Democrats are demanding information from the Federal Trade Commission about any past entanglement with the acting U.S. attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, in connection with his past role as an adviser to a company the agency accused of scamming inventors out of millions of dollars.

During an oversight hearing Tuesday, FTC Chairman Joseph Simons committed to having his staff brief senators on the agency’s investigation of World Patent Marketing, an invention promotion business that was shut down over agency claims that it bilked customers and intimidated those who complained about the company. World Patent Marketing reached a settlement with the FTC in May that included a nearly $26 million judgment against the company.