Former Obama admin staffer fired for allegedly stealing to buy kratom
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A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his job in the city of Minneapolis last week for 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 being fired, allegedly stole money from fellow city employees after returning from a work-sanctioned, weeks-long rehabilitation program. Minnesota Stars Tribune reported.
The Hennepin County District 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 Prosecutor’s Office for further comment.
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Adam Fetcher, 42, who once served as press secretary in the Obama administration, was fired from his communications job in the city of Minneapolis for allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to buy kratom, an herbal medicine used to treat opioid withdrawal. (City of Minneapolis Instagram; Getty Images)
Fetcher was caught on surveillance camera at a Minneapolis smoke shop buying kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.
The man allegedly stole a credit card from a city employee’s purse and made a $481 purchase at a Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor store less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the person who allegedly used counterfeit cards to make the purchase.
Authorities focused on the store after a woman called the store and claimed that someone had used her card to make a purchase without permission. When Fetcher visited the store again, employees took photos of him and followed him outside, the report said. They then gave investigators the license plate number of Fetcher’s vehicle.
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Former U.S. President Barack Obama smiles at the official opening of the Obama Presidential Center on June 19, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais-Pool/Getty Images)
“We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,'” Zamara said.
Fetcher, who earned $186,000 a year, was fired July 1.
“Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has been reorganized, fully staffed, and 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. But Kelliher wrote in a separate note that some city employees reported missing cash, debit or credit cards, as well as unauthorized spending, citing incidents that occurred between mid-May and June.
A kratom leaf and a vape shop sign. (Getty Images)
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“I know this information may be alarming and disturbing, and I assure you that the City takes such reports seriously and acts accordingly,” he wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. “While we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason to believe there is an ongoing risk of theft at this time.”
In addition to serving as the Obama administration’s deputy national press secretary, Fetcher has held senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian and Lyft.
