Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the senior Republican in the Senate, was indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Washington on seven counts of making false statements on his financial disclosure forms.

The 28-page indictment claims Stevens concealed his receipt of more than $250,000 dollars worth of benefits from oil services company Veco Corp. and its former chief executive, Bill Allen, from 1999-2006.

The benefits allegedly included substantial home improvements to his house in Girdwood, Alaska, household goods and automobiles that were significantly more valuable than ones he offered in exchange.

The indictment also claims Stevens used his Senate position to aid Veco at the request of Allen and other company employees.

Stevens, 84, an icon in Alaska politics since first winning his seat by appointment in December 1968, has denied wrongdoing but his home was raided in July 2007 by the FBI and the IRS, which was reportedly investigating whether Veco may have covered Stevens’ home renovation costs.

Allen and former Veco vice president Richard L. Smith pleaded guilty in May 2007 to providing more than $400,000 in corrupt payments to Alaska public officials.

Two lobbyists and three Alaska state lawmakers have also been convicted in the scandal, including Peter Knott, the former speaker of the Alaska House, who was convicted of extortion, bribery and conspiracy last year and sentenced to six years in prison.

There was no immediate comment from Stevens’ office or his lawyer regarding the indictment.

But his closest friend in the Senate and a fellow World War II veteran, Hawaii Democrat Daniel K. Inouye, said Stevens should be considered “innocent until proven guilty,” adding that the indictment should not impact Stevens’ ability to do his job.

Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, ranks seventh in all-time Senate seniority. He is ranking Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and was chairman of the Appropriations Committee from 1997 to 2005.

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