Ex-radio personality Tanya Cruise is asking to receive probation for her role in an insurance-fraud scheme.

Lori Sergiacomi, whose radio name was Tanya Cruise, is a giving, yet gullible, person who got caught up in a scheme masterminded by others, according to a memorandum filed by her lawyer, William P. Devereaux.

The government is asking for Sergiacomi to serve four months in prison, followed by four months in a halfway house. Prosecutors say the crimes transpired over time, giving Sergiacomi “ample opportunity” to step away. Instead, she “jumped in with both feet” and sought to exploit the floods of 2010 for financial gain, wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. McAdams.

Devereaux wrote that the former host on LiteRock 105 has suffered greatly by being known as a convicted felon and losing a job to which she had dedicated her life. He noted that her employer, Citadel Broadcasting, promptly fired her from the position she held for 17 years after news of the charges surfaced, though the company has hired and retained radio personalities with felony convictions.

Sergiacomi, 49, agreed in May to plead guilty to conspiracy and mail fraud and pay $40,012. She could face up to 85 years in prison and $1.25 million in fines.

She was one of four people named in a indictment that also targeted ex-North Providence Councilman John A. Zambarano; Robert A. Ricci, former North Providence Town Council president and hearing officer for the state Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board; and Vincent O. DiPaolo, an unlicensed public insurance adjuster.

All have pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy. Sergiacomi and Ricci are due to be sentenced Aug. 25.

Under the scheme, the group conspired to file the bogus insurance claim after groundwater seeped into Sergiacomi’s basement during the floods, causing damage that was not insured. Zambarano, who installed carpeting for her parents, persuaded Sergiacomi not to seek relief through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Devereaux said. He told her something to the effect of “don’t worry about anything. I know a guy that can straighten this all out,” Devereaux wrote.

The plan entailed Zambarano and Ricci damaging her roof and ripping her swimming pool liner with a tree branch. She would then submit a claim for nearly $50,000, blaming the damage on a made-up wind and rain storm so it would be covered by her insurance policy. Sergiacomi would hire Zambarano and Ricci to re-roof the house, which she inherited after caring for her parents through illnesses that led to their deaths, he said.

Sergiacomi grew concerned the damage they caused was so extensive it would not be fully covered, Devereaux said. The only repairs completed were the installation of a new pool liner and a roofing job done by Ricci. The basement damage, as well as destruction by Zambarano, remains.

FBI agents captured discussions of the plot while Zambarano was under surveillance in the North Providence public-corruption scandal.

In asking for consideration, Devereaux described Sergiacomi as a single woman who dedicated time to various charities. She also cares for a very ill and elderly dog, one of two dogs that have been her constant companions, he said.

Sergiacomi also asked for relief from possible fines, saying she is a person of modest means. Her financial problems were compounded by her decision to co-sign a loan for her supervisor’s daughter’s car that went into default, Devereaux said.