WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens was charged Tuesday with making false statements after a wide-ranging probe into ties between an energy company and lawmakers in his home state, according to a federal indictment.

In a 28-page indictment from a federal grand jury, Stevens was charged with seven counts of making false statements on his Senate financial forms.

FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents searched Stevens' Alaska home in July 2007 in connection with the probe, which has already snared two oil-company executives and a state lobbyist.

At the time, he urged constituents "not to form conclusions based upon incomplete and sometimes incorrect reports in the media."

The 84-year-old senator is a former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and is renowned for his prowess in steering federal funds to his vast, sparsely populated state.

He has represented Alaska in Washington since 1968 and is up for re-election in November.

From Thinkprogress earlier:

In a few minutes, the Department of Justice will announce that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) has been indicted on seven criminal counts. MSNBC’s Pete Williams reported that Stevens will be charged by the department’s Public Integrity section for making false statements to federal investigators relating to ongoing corruption probes. Last July, the FBI raided Stevens’ house. The senator is being investigated for doling out earmarks to his friends, among other abuses of his public office.