"I no said nothing, I not talking," the Cuban player said in English, of his conversation with prosecutors two months prior. "I said that I only know [Agent 1] from baseball."

According to prosecutors, it was the latest piece of evidence that Puig — who played for the Dodgers between 2013 and 2018 — had lied to them.

"Agent 1" is the moniker federal prosecutors have given to a former collegiate baseball player turned private baseball coach who they alleged served as Puig's connection to the "Nix Gambling Business," as they called the illicit operation, after its leader Wayne Nix.

Agent 1 is Donny Kadokawa, according to multiple sources familiar with the case but not authorized to speak on behalf of law enforcement. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles declined to comment. An attorney for Kadokawa — who has pleaded guilty to filing false tax returns — declined to comment.

By the time prosecutors spoke with Puig in January 2022, they were building out a roster of witnesses. They had zeroed in on him in part because they knew that two cashiers' checks drawn on his accounts had been sent to a "significant client of the Nix Gambling Business," according to Mitchell's declaration.

During the conversation, prosecutors believed Puig was lying about his interactions with the Nix organization, and warned one of his attorneys that what he was saying didn't match the evidence they already had.

Puig's current attorneys say he hadn't been given any information that would have allowed him to prepare for the conversation, which was held over a video link, and didn't have his own interpreter present.

In May 2022, prosecutors sent Puig a "target letter," informing him that he had become a focus of their investigation. In addition to the checks, prosecutors had obtained a trove of text messages from Agent 1, who court records show was cooperating with their investigation.

That July, Puig signed a deal with prosecutors in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of making false statements and prosecutors agreed not to pursue a more serious charge of obstruction of justice.

However, that November, Puig refused to plead guilty, saying he hadn't lied and was innocent of the charge against him. Prosecutors responded by refiling their indictment against Puig, this time adding the obstruction charge.

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