A Mexican actress-model and a restaurant manager could face five years in prison if convicted of entering into a "sham marriage."
Closing statements are expected Wednesday in the trial of Maria Fernanda Romero Martinez, 28, of Westwood -- who uses the stage name Fernanda Romero -- and Kent Ross, also 28, of Park La Brea. The two are charged with entering into a "sham marriage" so Romero could obtain permanent residency in the United States.
"The marriage was a sham," Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Left said at the start of the week-long trial in Los Angeles federal court. "Romero never lived with Ross, and she provided false information to the government."
But Ross' attorney, Michael T. Shannon, told the eight-man, six-woman jury that the couple got hitched in June 2005, "and they're still a happy couple Wednesday."
Romero paid Ross $5,000 to marry her in 2005 in order to become a U.S. resident, but the two never lived together, according to the indictment.
The investigation began when Romero's ex-boyfriend, fashion photographer Markus Klinko, alleged in an unrelated lawsuit that the marriage of Romero and Ross was bogus.
Romero has appeared in television shows and movies, including alongside Jessica Alba in "The Eye" in 2008, and in the Mexican soap opera "Eternamente Tuya" ("Forever Yours"). She has also hosted the Univision Spanish-language reality show "Control."
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Ross has been described as a musician and pizza restaurant manager.
The pair are also charged with making false statements during Romero's application for adjustment of status, otherwise known as an application for a green card, Left said.
