Adam Fetcher, previously associated with the Obama administration, now faces a felony charge for allegedly using a co-worker’s debit card to buy kratom, a mood-altering substance, from a Minneapolis smoke shop. Fetcher, who was the chief communications officer for Minneapolis, was dismissed in early July amidst a police investigation. Reports indicate he had taken cash and bank cards from three municipal employees and spent lavishly in smoke shops.
Formal charges include a felony count of financial transaction fraud, as reported by The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
“This situation introduces a new political challenge for Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey,” the report states. Frey is already under scrutiny due to extensive fraud linked to the city’s Somali community, which he’s politically allied with.
Fetcher, aged 42, formerly served in the Obama administration as a press secretary. His dismissal followed allegations of using stolen funds to buy kratom, usually utilized for opioid withdrawal.
Fetcher’s professional background includes several significant communications roles in the Obama administration and campaigns. He was an assistant press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security in 2011, then moved to Obama’s Department of the Interior, eventually joining the president’s re-election campaign in 2012.
Despite leaving politics, Fetcher landed high-level communication roles at Patagonia and Lyft. Court records reveal no criminal history for Fetcher, except minor traffic violations. His alleged actions are surprising, given a nearly $200,000 annual salary as Minneapolis’ communications leader.
According to sources, Fetcher allegedly took money and cards from coworkers just after returning from a rehabilitation program, where he disclosed battling substance abuse. Kratom, a treatment for opioid withdrawal, is increasingly scrutinized by federal and state authorities.
An attorney for Fetcher declined to comment, and he’s due in court on Aug. 11. Efforts to reach a representative for Obama were unsuccessful.
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