We told him, 'Hey, we know what you're doing.'
A man who once shaped the public voice of a presidency and later guided the reputations of some of America's most recognized brands found himself, at 42, allegedly stealing from coworkers in a Minneapolis city office to purchase a substance used to manage opioid withdrawal. Adam Fetcher's termination from a $186,000 communications role lays bare how quietly and completely a life can pivot from influence to desperation. The case, now under review by the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, is less a story of a fall from grace than a reminder that addiction does not negotiate with résumés.
- Multiple Minneapolis city employees discovered cash and credit cards missing from their belongings over several weeks, creating a quiet but unsettling atmosphere of distrust in the workplace.
- Surveillance footage from a nearby smoke shop placed Fetcher on camera using a stolen credit card to buy kratom — a purchase of $481 that would unravel everything.
- Alert store employees, prompted by a victim's call about an unauthorized charge, photographed Fetcher on a return visit and recorded his license plate, handing investigators the concrete evidence they needed.
- The revelation carried a painful irony: the thefts allegedly began after Fetcher returned from a city-approved rehabilitation program, suggesting the struggle had not ended but only shifted form.
- The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is now reviewing the case, while city leadership has moved to reassure staff that the threat has passed — though the human wreckage of the episode remains unresolved.
Adam Fetcher's professional biography reads like a study in institutional trust. He served as a deputy national press secretary under President Obama, then moved through senior communications roles at Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft before Minneapolis hired him at $186,000 a year to lead its communications office. He was fired on July 1, roughly a year into the job.
The city's official announcement was deliberately spare — a brief note from Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher citing a reorganized, fully staffed team. A separate internal memo told the real story: between mid-May and June, several employees had reported missing cash and credit cards, with unauthorized charges appearing on their accounts.
Surveillance footage from a smoke shop called Tobacco & Vapor, less than a mile from Fetcher's home, captured him using a stolen credit card to buy kratom — an herbal supplement derived from a Southeast Asian plant, widely used to ease opioid withdrawal but carrying its own dependency risks. The purchase came to $481. When a victim called the shop to report the unauthorized charge, employees began watching. On a later visit, staff photographed Fetcher, followed him outside, and recorded his license plate. Store manager Hamza Zamara later told investigators plainly: 'We told him, we know what you're doing.'
The timing added a layer of weight to the case. Fetcher had allegedly resumed the thefts after returning from a weeks-long rehabilitation program the city had approved. Kelliher's memo to staff called the situation 'concerning and troubling' and assured employees the risk had passed. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is now reviewing the matter. Fetcher's attorney has not commented publicly.
Adam Fetcher's career in communications had taken him through some of the country's most prominent institutions. He'd worked as a deputy national press secretary under President Obama. Later, he held senior roles at Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft—companies where precision in messaging and reputation management were essential. In Minneapolis, the city hired him as a communications officer at $186,000 a year. He lasted about a year before being fired on July 1.
The circumstances of his departure were not immediately disclosed. City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher sent a brief email to staff announcing the termination, noting only that under Fetcher's leadership the communications team had been reorganized and was fully staffed. But in a separate memo, Kelliher revealed what had actually happened: between mid-May and June, several city employees had reported missing cash and credit cards, along with unauthorized charges on their accounts.
Surveillance footage from a Minneapolis smoke shop called Tobacco & Vapor told the story. Fetcher had been captured on camera purchasing kratom—an herbal supplement derived from a Southeast Asian plant, commonly used to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms but carrying its own addiction risk—using a credit card that did not belong to him. The purchase totaled $481. The shop was less than a mile from his home.
Store manager Hamza Zamara and his staff became crucial to the investigation. When a woman called the shop to report an unauthorized charge on her card, employees began paying attention. On a subsequent visit, Fetcher came back. This time, staff photographed him and followed him outside, recording his vehicle's license plate number. When Zamara spoke to investigators, he was direct about what had transpired: "We told him, 'Hey, we know what you're doing.'" The store's cooperation gave authorities the concrete lead they needed.
The pattern was specific. Fetcher had allegedly stolen a charge card from a city employee's purse and used it for the kratom purchase. The timing was notable too: he had returned to work after completing a weeks-long, city-approved rehabilitation program before the thefts began. The Hennepin County Attorney's Office received the case from local authorities and began reviewing it. Fetcher's attorney has not publicly commented, and the full scope of the investigation remains under wraps.
Kelliher's memo to staff struck a careful tone. She acknowledged that the reports were "concerning and troubling" and assured employees that the city took such matters seriously and had acted accordingly. She also offered reassurance: there was no reason to believe any ongoing theft risk remained. But the facts were stark—multiple employees had been victimized, and a man with a résumé that included the highest levels of American corporate and political communication had allegedly turned to petty theft to fund a substance meant to treat addiction.
Citas Notables
We told him, 'Hey, we know what you're doing.'— Hamza Zamara, store manager at Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop
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.— Margaret Anderson Kelliher, City Operations Officer
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why would someone with that kind of background—Obama administration, Patagonia, Rivian—resort to stealing from coworkers?
That's the question that hangs over this. He'd just come back from a rehabilitation program. Kratom is used for opioid withdrawal, which suggests he was managing something serious. The theft wasn't random—it was targeted, deliberate, and caught on camera.
The store employees actually confronted him?
They did. They photographed him, followed him outside, got his plate. They told him directly they knew what he was doing. That's not passive—that's active intervention.
And he was making good money. $186,000 a year.
Yes. Which makes the $481 purchase even stranger. It wasn't desperation in the traditional sense. It was something else—compulsion, maybe, or a very specific need he felt he couldn't meet through legitimate means.
What does kratom actually do?
It's a plant-based substance that people use to manage opioid withdrawal. But it's not regulated the way prescription medications are, and it carries its own addiction potential. So he was allegedly stealing to buy something meant to treat addiction—there's a kind of trapped logic in that.
The city's response was pretty measured.
They had to be. They fired him quietly, assured employees there was no ongoing risk, and handed it to the county attorney. They didn't sensationalize it. But the memo made clear this wasn't isolated—multiple employees, multiple incidents over a month.