(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Lindsay Lohan has been formally charged with felony grand theft.

The troubled actress is accused of taking a necklace worth $2,500 from a store in Venice, California, last week. The Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office made the announcement earlier this morning, and Lindsay is due to appear in a Los Angeles court this afternoon for an arraignment on the single felony charge.

According to law enforcement sources, there is security video footage of Lindsay wearing the item, which went missing after she was at the store. Shop workers reported the lost necklace to police, who made moves to search the 24-year-olds rented home in Venice. The piece of jewellery was later handed in to police, and although it is unknown who by it is thought Lindsays stylist gave it to authorities.

Lindsay has denied any wrongdoing, and is believed to have said the item was actually on loan to her.

We vehemently deny these allegations and, if charges are filed, we will fight them in court, not in the press, her lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley said in a statement last week.

This is the latest in a string of legal issues which have engulfed the star over recent months.

She spent time in prison and rehab last year after she violated the terms of her 2007 conviction for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) by not attending enough alcohol education classes.

Upon her release she failed two of her court-ordered random drugs tests, and then voluntarily checked into the Betty Ford Center in California. Lindsay received treatment at the clinic for three months before her release in January, and was said to be determined to get her life back on track.

The charge of felony grand theft could constitute a violation of her probation relating to her DUI conviction. If convicted she could receive a three-year prison sentence. (C) Cover Media