Los Angeles , California ( CNN ) -- The trial of a Mexican soap opera star -- accused of paying an American to marry her so she could work into the United States -- will also feature a star from a U.S. reality show . Celebrity photographer Markus Klinko , star of Bravo 's `` Double Exposure , '' hired an investigator to gather evidence of Fernanda Romero 's alleged sham marriage , according to prosecution and defense documents . Romero , 28 , was arrested on marriage fraud charges in April and her federal trial begins Tuesday in Los Angeles . Her husband is also accused . She would never have been prosecuted if Klinko had not personally financed an investigation of his former girlfriend and delivered the results to immigration agents , the defense said . `` Klinko went to great lengths to see to it that this case was criminally prosecuted and ... did so because of his animus toward defendant Fernanda Romero , '' a defense petition said . When Klinko , 49 , takes the stand as a prosecution witness , the defense will try to prove that the Swiss native engaged in his own sham marriage two decades earlier , according to a defense document filed in court . A Texas woman , in a sworn statement filed with the court , said Klinko paid her $ 20,000 for a sham marriage in 1987 . `` The marriage between Markus and me was done for the sole purpose of allowing Markus Klinko to obtain a green card , '' Victoria Waisman said in a sworn statement filed with the court . The Klinko-Waisman marriage ended after just four months and was never used for a green card application , the defense document said . Klinko married another woman a day after his divorce from Waisman was finalized . It was through that second marriage that Klinko obtained a U.S. work visa , the defense said . `` As the Waisman evidence shows , Klinko was quite familiar with the crime of marriage fraud , thus was able to construct a somewhat believable case against the defendants , '' a defense petition said . Klinko , through an attorney , denied to CNN the accusation that he had been involved in a sham marriage . Klinko earlier denied to CNN that he personally sought to have Romero , his one-time girlfriend , prosecuted . It was his lawyer who gathered and presented the evidence to immigration officials , he said . He said it was not because he was angry over their breakup , but it was part of a legal battle with Romero and Michael Ball , the owner of the Rock & Republic clothing company . Romero was then a model for Ball 's company . Klinko said he turned the evidence over to the government because he feared extortion from Ball and Romero . The former lawyer , Anthony Lopresti , said in a filing in Klinko 's bankruptcy case that it was Klinko who hired the investigator `` to pursue the criminal prosecution and/or deportation of Ms . Romero . '' The investigation , which Klinko insisted on , was `` outside the scope '' of the lawsuit , Lopresti said . Romero has appeared in at least 15 television shows and films since 2005 , according to the Internet Movie Database , when prosecutors allege she paid Kent Ross , a pizza deliveryman and musician , to marry her . The prosecutor in the case , Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Left , said Romero could get between 15 and 21 months in prison if convicted , though such cases usually produce shorter sentences . The case is unusual because marriage fraud charges are usually litigated by immigration authorities rather than prosecuted as criminal cases . The federal complaint accused Romero of paying Ross , 28 , to marry her on June 12 , 2005 , but alleges they never lived together as a couple . Romero began dating Klinko a month later , and they lived together for several months , the complaint said . According to a sworn affidavit by ICE Senior Special Agent Bonita Canterberry filed in the case , Klinko and Romero 's relationship ended in 2007 , about the same time Klinko filed a lawsuit against Rock & Republic jeans company and its owner , Ball , alleging breach of contract in relation to a photo shoot . Klinko also accused Ball of extortion . `` In connection with the civil suit , Klinko 's attorney and private investigators looked into the claim that Ball had arranged for the sham marriage between Romero and Ross . Klinko and his attorney turned over to ICE documentation and findings from their investigation , which , in turn , led to the government 's investigation into Romero 's marriage to Ross , '' Canterberry 's affidavit says . The complaint names Michael Ball as a target of the federal investigation , alleging that he helped arrange the sham marriage while Romero was modeling for his company . Romero 's show business career began in Mexico at age 16 when she joined the ensemble Frizzby , her Internet Movie Database biography says . The group toured Mexico and Central America , releasing two top-10 singles , it says . She started hosting television shows and appearing on commercials in Mexico when she was 18 , it says . Romero has appeared in print and TV ad campaigns for Rock and Republic , Clean and Clear , Pepsi , Apple and JC Penney , it says . `` 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 says .
NEW : Markus Klinko denies he also had a sham marriage . Fernanda Romero is on trial for using a sham marriage to get a work visa . `` Double Exposure '' star Markus Klinko is a key prosecution witness . Klinko denies he turned his ex-girlfriend in to the feds .