Former Obama press aide accused of stealing cash, credit cards, from Minneapolis coworkers to buy kratom

A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his Minneapolis city job last week after allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to purchase an herbal supplement used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.

Adam Fetcher, 42, who served as a communications officer for the city for a year before he was terminated, allegedly stole from his fellow city employees after returning from a work-approved, weeks-long rehabilitation program, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from authorities and is reviewing it, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Fetcher’s attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further comment.

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Fetcher was captured on surveillance cameras at a Minneapolis smoke shop purchasing kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.

He allegedly stole a charge card from a city employee’s purse and made a $481 purchase at the Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop, less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the man who allegedly used fraudulent cards to make the purchase.

Authorities zeroed in on the shop after a woman called the store claiming that someone had made a purchase using her card without permission. When Fetcher visited the shop again, employees took pictures of him and followed him outside, the news report states. They later gave investigators Fetcher’s vehicle’s license plate number.

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“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’” Zamara said.

Fetcher, who earned $186,000 annually, was fired on July 1.

“Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has reorganized, is fully staffed, and is well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs,” City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote in an email to staff announcing the termination.

The email did not explain the circumstances of Fetcher’s departure. However, Kelliher wrote in a separate memo that several city employees had reported missing cash, debit, or credit cards, as well as unauthorized charges, noting the incidents happened between mid-May and June.

“I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly,” she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. “Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft.”

In addition to serving as deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration, Fetcher went on to hold senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.