Nadya Suleman's octuplets have brought her plenty of fame, but fortune appears to be another story.
Her father, Ed Doud, has defaulted on a $450,000 balloon payment on a half-million dollar house he bought last year for the family to live in, mortgage holder Amer Haddadin said Wednesday. Haddadin told The Associated Press he plans to file foreclosure papers in court within days if he doesn't get his money.
Although Suleman's lawyer, Jeff Czech, said earlier this week his client's father was hoping to work something out, he was blunt when it came to the balloon payment: "Mr. Doud at this moment doesn't have $450,000 to pay off," he said.
In a brief e-mail Wednesday, he added that he was negotiating with Haddadin's attorney for more time to refinance.
Suleman's choice
Not that Suleman doesn't have the opportunity to raise the money quickly, although not in ways she would want to.
Steven Hirsch, co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, one of the world's largest purveyors of adult films, announced this week that his company would pay off Suleman's mortgage if she would make a porn film.
Hirsch assured it would be, well, as tasteful as those things can be with her input on male co-stars and script.
He declined to say whether Suleman had expressed interest in the offer, but Czech indicated she had rejected it out of hand.
No porn, just PETA
He did say that Suleman had accepted a much more modest offer from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — $5,000 to put a sign in her front yard proclaiming, "Don't Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter."
As an added incentive, the animal rights organization had said Wednesday it would throw in a month's supply of veggie burgers and veggie hot dogs for Suleman and her 14 children, who range in age from 1 to 8.
"No porn. Just Peta. Nadya prefers animals over men," Czech said in an e-mail exchange with The Associated Press.
When Suleman's children were born in January 2009 it seemed inconceivable that a little more than a year later she might be scrounging up hot dog offers from an animal rights group. The arrival of the longest-surviving octuplets in history was hailed as a medial miracle and it appeared a joyful public was ready to line up to help raise them, providing free diapers, food and other necessities.
There was also talk of book and movie deals and perhaps a reality show along the lines of "Jon & Kate Plus 8."