Federal tax documents show that Eric Greitens, the Republican candidate for Missouri governor, was paid $700,000 over a five-year period by a charity he founded to help veterans.
Democratic candidate Chris Koster is criticizing the payments in new ads launched Wednesday. One accuses Greitens of diverting money intended to help veterans to instead promote himself.
Greitens' campaign responded with a fundraising email saying Koster "should be ashamed" for the attack while asking supporters to give money to fight it.
Greitens is a former Navy SEAL officer who used part of his combat pay to help found The Mission Continues in 2007.
Internal Revenue Service records show he initially worked without pay but eventually received a salary of $175,000 annually. Greitens stepped down as CEO of The Mission Continues in 2014.