By Mike Clary in Miami
December 20, 2007 01:00am

She has at least 10 husbands, investigators say.

But Ms Lopez, who first became a bride soon after arriving from Cuba in 2002, may have racked up several more marriages, records indicate, without divorcing any of the men before she wed.

"I can tell you, even after 28 years in the criminal court system, I've never heard of anything like this," said Terry Chavez, a spokeswoman for the Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney.

"This is a first."

Among the grooms were at least four who have had addresses in the same county in Florida, including Ms Lopez's first husband. Just 21 when he wed Lopez in June 2002, he listed a residence in Hollywood, Florida.

Also with Broward County addresses were husbands numbers three, five and nine.

Her other husbands were Miami-Dade County residents, and all her spouses were wed within a four-year period that ended in November, 2006, say investigators with the Miami-Dade Office of the State Attorney and the Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Alas, Ms Lopez did not marry for love. She married for money, say authorities.

"This is a joint investigation into marriage fraud between ICE and the State Attorney's Office," said Barbara Gonzalez for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Miami.

"The fact of the matter is that Ms Lopez was marrying illegal aliens for profit. ICE takes these cases very seriously because they have national security implications."

Ms Lopez faces nine counts of felony bigamy, and each could carry a penalty of up to five years in prison on conviction.

Ms Gonzalez said more arrests were expected.

Ms Lopez, was taken into custody on December 12, in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach. She had been arrested once before, on a petty larceny charge. In May 2003 she was convicted and fined.

Three months later, Ms Lopez, while still married to husband No. 1, walked down the aisle with another man, investigators said.

Less than two years after that, she got hitched for a third time to a 26-year-old. Then the matrimonial pace picked up. Her husbands could not be reached for comment.