Hung jury in actress's immigration trial

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles have declined to say if they will retry Mexican actress Fernanda Romero on charges of a sham marriage to an American.

A mistrial was declared Friday in Romero's trial on charges she paid musician Kent Ross to become her legal hubby in 2005 so she could secure a U.S. work visa.

The jury said late this week it was deadlocked by one holdout juror and could not reach a unanimous verdict.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real set a January hearing on a possible second trial and compared the case to the soap operas Romero has been featured in, CNN said.

Romero and Ross were both 23 when they were hitched at a small ceremony. Federal investigators were tipped off that the marriage was one of convenience.

During the trial, prosecutors said the "couple" lived in separate quarters in Los Angeles and didn't even go on a honeymoon.

The defense argued that the whirlwind romance ended within months due to Ross' drinking and carousing. They also questioned the very idea of an attractive rising star stooping so low as to pay a struggling musician who delivers pizzas on the side.

"Why would anybody have to be paid to marry her?" lawyer Michael Nasatir asked during closing arguments.