Nadya Suleman, better known as “Octomom,” is making headlines again, but this time it isn’t for eviction or for starring in a pornographic movie. The mom to 14 kids is being accused of welfare fraud. Suleman will appear before a Los Angeles County judge on Friday for her arraignment. If she is eventually found guilty, she could face more than five years in prison.
According to Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey, “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.” Suleman reportedly failed to claim almost $30,000 in earnings on her adult work in her welfare application. She is being charged with “one count of aid by misrepresentation and two counts of perjury by false application for aid.”
The criminal complaint obtained by KTLA says that Suleman “illegally gained about $16,500 in aid from CalWORKs and CalFresh during the first half of 2013.” Nadya Suleman hasn’t released a statement on the charges, so it’s unclear whether the failure to report the additional revenue was simply an oversight or if she intentionally omitted the income for fear that she would lose at least part of her public assistance benefits.
As you likely remember from the media storm that surrounded the octuplets, this isn’t the first time Suleman has been the center of welfare controversy. Suleman had six children prior to conceiving the octuplets, and it was later uncovered that the California mom was already receiving public assistance before getting pregnant again. Even though Suleman was able to get off welfare for a time, she went back on welfare in January of 2013. Suleman reportedly began receiving $2,800 per month for food and emergency cash, as well as medical and dental benefits.
The public reaction to Suleman being charged with welfare fraud has been varied, with some people pitying the mom while others are outraged. As you can see below, some people are wondering whether trying the case is ultimately worth the time and money.
That's it LA put Octomom in prison cause she took 30k extra in welfare, that way we can take complete care of her 14 kids
— donald paulon (@DonaldPaulon) January 13, 2014
@USATODAY OctoMom case will end up costing us way over the alleged $30k that she earned..stupid…is prosecutor running for an office?
— MedicalQuack (@MedicalQuack) January 13, 2014
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