Two years ago, a loan application from the parent company of Newsweek raised the suspicions of an employee at a small Minnesota bank.

The bank staffer’s misgivings helped trigger what has become a wide-ranging fraud probe by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, people familiar with the matter say.

The investigation has touched off an unraveling at Newsweek that has left one of the most storied brands in American media in crisis. It has expanded from an inquiry into suspected bank fraud to a look at possible advertising abuses and ties between the parent company, Newsweek Media Group, and a bible college in California, the people said.

Recent weeks have brought an exodus of nearly two dozen journalists from the publication, including some who say they were fired while attempting to report and write about the probe, and the resignation of at least three top executives. Prosecutors raided Newsweek’s lower-Manhattan offices in January and have been interviewing former employees about the company’s operations, people familiar with the situation said.

A culture that former employees say was geared to chase online views failed to pay dividends. That has led to wide-scale layoffs, missed payrolls and a string of debt and tax liens against the company and its executives.