WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Octomum Nadya Suleman and her large family plus helpers launch their signature Milkshake at 'Millions of Milkshakes' on November 10, 2010 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Toby Canham/Getty Images)(credit: Toby Canham/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Nadya Suleman, the woman famously known as “Octomom,” was charged Monday with welfare fraud after failing to report nearly $30,000 in earnings, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.
Suleman, whose real name is Natalie Denise Suleman, was formally charged on Jan. 6 with one count of aid by misrepresentation and two counts of perjury by false application for aid.
According to the complaint, the 38-year-old mother of 14 filed for public assistance in Lancaster in January 2013.
“While applying for public aid, the mother of 14 children allegedly failed to disclose that she was also getting checks for personal appearances and residuals from videos. She allegedly failed to report the extra income she earned between Jan. 1, 2013, and June 30, 2013,” the DA’s office said.
Los Angeles criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Steve Meister talked to KNX 1070 about the charges.
Suleman, who has faced monetary troubles in the past, including bankruptcy, has resorted to porn, nude photography, online date auctions and donations in an effort to raise money for her family.
She will be arraigned Friday in a downtown courtroom where prosecutors are expected to ask for bail to be set at $25,000.
If convicted, she faces more than five years in jail.
