Denise Richards is crying poor, claiming that she has to pimp her kids on a reality show for the cash –- but Charlie Sheen's camp says that's a bunch of hooey.

They're telling the New York Post that Denise is getting a whopping $52,000 per month in child support – and tax-free at that – in addition to the $60K per month she got for two years in alimony. "Most people in America can figure out how to live on that, but Denise can't," says a pal.

And then there's the $25 million some say she could end up making from Sheen's show "Two and a Half Men."