Federal authorities in a statement Wednesday morning said Arnowitz maintains his political campaign account under the name "Friends of Larry Arnowitz." From June 2015 through February 2019, Arnowitz used donated campaign funds for personal expenses, federal authorities said. The expenses were unrelated to any legitimate campaign or re-election purpose, the U.S. attorney's office said in a release Wednesday.

For instance, he used the money for his personal residential mortgage, and made "substantial cash withdrawals" for personal use, the U.S. attorney's office said. The indictment, filed Friday and unsealed Wednesday, cites a $5,000 check Arnowitz sent on Feb. 13, 2019 to pay some of his home mortgage loan. To conceal his fraud, he filed false reports with the Missouri Ethics Commission, federal authorities said.

U.S. Attorney Jeff Jensen said in a statement: "Alderman Arnowitz abused the trust of many individuals and organizations that contributed to his political campaign fund for several years. This type of corruption by our elected officials will not be tolerated, and federal law enforcement will continue to investigate and prosecute these types of criminal schemes in order to insure the integrity of our political processes."