A former Obama administration deputy press secretary lost his Minneapolis city position last week after he was accused of taking cash and credit cards from municipal employees and using them to buy an herbal supplement commonly used by people managing opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Adam Fetcher, 42, had worked for the city as a communications officer for about a year before his termination. According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, the alleged thefts occurred after he returned from a city-approved rehabilitation program that lasted several weeks.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from law enforcement and is evaluating it, a spokesperson told INC News. INC News has also contacted Fetcher’s attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office seeking additional comment.
Adam Fetcher, 42, a former Obama administration press secretary, was dismissed from his Minneapolis communications role after allegedly stealing cash and payment cards from city workers to buy kratom, an herbal substance used by some to ease opioid withdrawal. (City of Minneapolis Instagram; Getty Images)
Surveillance footage reportedly showed Fetcher inside a Minneapolis smoke shop buying kratom, a supplement associated with opioid withdrawal relief but also linked to potential dependence.
Fetcher is accused of taking a charge card from a city employee’s purse and using it to make a $481 purchase at Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor, a shop located less than a mile from his residence, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said employees assisted investigators in identifying Fetcher as the person suspected of using fraudulent cards for the transaction.
Investigators focused on the store after a woman contacted the business to report that her card had been used there without authorization. When Fetcher later returned to the shop, staff members photographed him and followed him outside, according to the report. They subsequently provided investigators with the license plate number from Fetcher’s vehicle.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
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 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.
A kratom leaf and a vape store sign. (Getty Images)
“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.
