WASHINGTON, March 11: A former domestic policy adviser to President Bush has been charged with theft for allegedly receiving phony refunds at departmental stores. Claude Alexander Allen, 45, was arrested on Thursday by Montgomery County police for allegedly returning more than $5,000 worth of merchandise he did not buy, officials said. Allen was the No. 2 official in the Health and Human Services Department when President Bush nominated him in April 2003 to the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Mr Bush nominated him to the court again a year later, but Allen never received a Senate vote. In early 2005, President Bush hired Allen as a domestic policy adviser. He resigned abruptly on Feb 9, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family.