AceShowbiz -

Nadya Suleman, a woman who drew attention after she gave birth to eight babies in 2009 and earned the nickname "Octomom" as the result, has been charged with welfare fraud. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said on Monday, January 13 that Suleman failed to report $30,000 in earnings while receiving public assistance money.

"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," the authorities said in a statement, as quoted by The Associated Press. She was charged with one count of aid by misrepresentation and two counts of perjury by false application for aid.

Suleman was not immediately taken into custody, but she was required to appear in court on Friday. She may spend up to five years and eight months in jail if convicted.

Suleman has been struggling to take care of her fourteen children. She appeared in an adult video, posed topless for a magazine and worked at a strip club to make ends meet. She filed for personal bankruptcy in 2012. In a phone interview with TMZ Live last year, she said, "I'm not ashamed of doing it ... I feel as though no woman or man should be ashamed of their body."

Suleman already has six children when she gave birth to the octuplets. Her older children range in age from 7 to 12.