Allen's Undisclosed Stock Options Were Worth Up to $1.1 Million

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Allen's Undisclosed Stock Options Were Worth Up to $1.1 Million

By Michael Forsythe and Miles Weiss

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Stock options that Senator George Allen described as worthless were worth as much as $1.1 million at one point, according to a review of Senate disclosure forms and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

The records appear to contradict remarks he made to the Associated Press. ``I got paid in stock options which were worthless,'' AP quoted him as saying.

Allen served as a board member of Chantilly, Virginia-based Xybernaut Corp. from 1998 until December 2000 and was awarded options on 110,000 shares during that period. His Senate financial disclosure form for 1999, required for candidates as well as officeholders, doesn't report that he owned the options.

The stock options issue didn't arise during a televised debate last night between Allen, a 54-year-old Republican, and Democratic nominee Jim Webb, 60. Nevertheless, Mark Rozell, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, said the issue poses a problem for Allen, who polls show is in a close race with Webb.

``In an election season in which congressional ethics and morality are at the top of public discussion, Allen may now be seen by much of the public as part of a larger problem afflicting his party,'' Rozell said.

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