Police: Waukegan man conned rehab residents

A Waukegan man who was acting as president at an addiction recovery facility has been arrested for stealing items from residents and pawning the goods, police said.

Police officers executing a search warrant at the home in the 400 block of North Genesee Street on Feb 29 found Andrae L. Griffin, 44, preparing to smoke crack cocaine, according to authorities.

Griffin, who was the target of the search warrant, faces three counts of theft along with possession of a controlled substance, police said.

He is accused of abusing his position as “president” of what was thought to be an Oxford House by using his power to take control of property of house residents, police said.

Police later learned the residence is not an Oxford House, a type of self-run addiction recovery home, and has not been one since the early 2000s.

Police said residents believed the home was an Oxford House and that Griffin was the house president. Griffin is also charged with purchasing equipment using the purported Oxford House’s line of credit, which he later pawned, according to police.

Griffin was not selling drugs to the residents, according to police.