LOS ANGELES — Jurors told a judge Thursday that one panelist was hampering their efforts to reach a verdict in the trial of a Mexican actress-model and a Los Angeles restaurant manager accused of getting married so she could obtain permanent residency in the United States.

Maria Fernanda Romero Martinez, 28, of Westwood — who uses the stage name Fernanda Romero — and Kent Ross, also 28, of Park La Brea, are charged with federal marriage fraud and making false statements during Romero's application for a green card.

Jurors were questioned Thursday by the judge to determine if verdicts could be reached, after a note to the court indicated one of the panelists had a "hostile attitude" and was holding up deliberations

Mexican-born actress Fernanda Romero testified Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010, in her federal marriage-fraud trial in which she stands accused of marrying to remain in the United States. She is seen here in an Oct. 15, 2009 file photo arriving at "Los Premios MTV 2009" in Universal City. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
that began Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real brought each of the jurors into court and asked them whether that was indeed the case. Almost all of the panelists responded that the juror in question was disregarding the evidence and responding on an emotional level to the case.

One juror, who was not identified, said the chance of reaching a unanimous decision on the charges was "non-existent" the way things stand.

However, Real sent the panelists back to continue deliberations, which will resume Friday morning.

The case hinges on whether Romero paid Ross to marry her in 2005 and then lied about it to immigration officials.

"It was a fraud and a sham ... solely to obtain a green card," Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Left said in his closing argument Wednesday, telling jurors the couple never intended to establish a life together.

But Ross' attorney, Michael T. Shannon, told the eight-man, six-woman jury that when the couple got married in June 2005, they were "head over heels in love."

Left argued during the week-long trial in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles that Romero paid Ross $5,000 to engage in a "green-card marriage."

Defense attorneys, though, urged the jury to acquit the pair of all charges, saying there is no evidence that money was paid to Ross.

The investigation began when the 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."

Ross described himself as the manager of a pizza restaurant and a working musician who played with a band named The Electric Uh-Oh.