Mexican actress, husband charged with marriage fraud

April 16, 2010 | 11:07 am

A Mexican actress and her American husband have been charged with marriage fraud for allegedly trying to gain legal residency and a work permit for her by marrying each other.

Maria Fernanda Romero Martinez and Kent Ross, both 28, were arrested Friday morning at their respective Los Angeles homes, according to a federal affidavit.

Ross and Romero were married in 2005, but federal authorities claim the couple never lived together as a couple. A month after the marriage, Romero began dating, then living with fashion photographer Markus Klinko.

Romero also applied for a green card based on the marriage to Ross. The application included documents allegedly containing false statements about how long she had lived in the United States and with Ross.

When Klinko's and Romero’s relationship broke up, Klinko went to federal immigration authorities with evidence that Romero was in a sham marriage, according to the document.
Romero, who goes by the stage name Fernanda Romero, acted in the 2008 supernatural thriller “The Eyeâ€