The 'Octomom,' whose real name is Natalie Denise Suleman, was charged on Monday with welfare fraud after failing to report nearly $30,000 in earnings, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said, as reported by CBS. .
Suleman was formally charged on January 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 filed for public assistance in Lancaster in January 2013," CBS Los Angeles also reported.
"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," as reported by the DA's office in L.A.
Suleman will be arraigned on Friday, according to news reports. She "has faced monetary troubles in the past, including bankruptcy and foreclosure, has resorted to porn, online date auctions and donations in an effort to raise money," CBS Los Angeles also reported.
The criminal complaint alleged that Suleman, who has 14 children, illegally received $6,667 from the CalWorks financial assistance program and $9,814 from the CalFresh food aid program during the first six months of 2013.
Prosecutors charged her with one count of aid by misrepresentation and two counts of perjury by false application for aid. The charges carry a maximum sentence of five years, eight months in custody.
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, "the Octomom" faces more than five years in jail.
The 38-year-old " drew international attention in 2009 as only the second U.S. woman to deliver a healthy set of octuplets. She was widely criticized because she had used in vitro fertilization to become pregnant and was on public assistance at the time," according to The Los Angeles Times.
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