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LOS ANGELES -- A Mexican actress-model and the man she wed in an alleged sham marriage for legal residency status in the U.S. have pleaded not guilty to federal marriage fraud charges.
Maria Fernanda Romero Martinez, a 28-year-old actor and model who lives in Westwood and who uses the stage name Fernanda Romero, and Kent Ross, also 28, who resides in the Park La Brea district of Los Angeles, were arrested April 16 by Special Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Romero and Ross will face trial in Los Angeles next month.
Romero paid Ross, a pizza delivery man, to "marry" her on June 12, 2005 and they never lived together as a couple, officials say.
A month after the marriage, Romero began dating fashion photographer Markus Klinko, and they lived together for several months, Mrozek said.
However, according to the affidavit, Romero and Klinko broke up, and Klinko eventually presented ICE with evidence that Romero was in a sham marriage.
Shortly after Romero and Ross were married, Romero filed an application for adjustment of status, otherwise known as an application for a green card, claiming that she had entered into a lawful marriage with Ross, according to court documents.
In support of this application, Romero and Ross filed several documents containing false statements, such as claims that they lived at the same address.
Romero also filed documents containing false statements as to how long she had resided in the United States.
"This actor should have realized that posing as a bride for immigration purposes could land her a role in a real-life crime drama," said Miguel Unzueta, Special Agent in Charge for the ICE Office of Investigations in Los Angeles.
"Immigration benefit fraud is a serious crime. Not only does it potentially rob deserving immigrants of benefits they rightfully deserve, it also undermines the integrity of our nation's legal immigration system."
The charge of marriage fraud carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Both defendants have been released on bond.
The case is unusual because marriage fraud charges are usually litigated by immigration authorities rather than prosecuted as criminal cases.
Romero appeared in at least 15 television shows and films since 2005, according to the Internet Movie Database, when prosecutors allege she paid Ross to marry her.
Romero's biography posted on her IMDB page listed Klinko as one of several photographers "who noticed her on-camera appeal, opened Fernanda's eyes to acting opportunities in Hollywood."
Romero's show business career began in Mexico at age 16 when she joined the ensemble Frizzby, the biography said. The group toured Mexico and Central America, releasing two top 10 singles.
She started hosting television shows and appearing on commercials in Mexico when she was 18.
Romero has appeared in print and TV ad campaigns for Rock and Republic, Clean and Clear, Pepsi, Apple and JC Penney.
"She was cast in Telemundo's original production 'Wounded Soul,' where she was not only a lead actress, but also a lead singer, performing two songs" in the soap-opera's soundtrack," her biography said.
Source KTLA News
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