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Darnell Nash, who pleaded guilty to her involvement in a scheme to defraud the U.S. government, was sentenced to more than 14 years in prison. Nash tried to argue Wednesday that she should receive a lighter sentence because of her transgender status.

(File photo)

Darnell Nash

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Darnell Nash pleaded with a federal judge for leniency Wednesday morning saying that the pressures and stresses of being transgender played a role in a scheme that bilked the U.S. government out of $360,000 in unemployment benefits.

U.S. District Judge Donald Nugent sentenced her to more than 14 years in prison, though, saying that she didn't deserve any leniency.

"[It was] a very sophisticated and complicated scheme," Nugent said, also citing Nash's past instances of theft, fraud and violent convictions. "And that's why the penalty is so severe in this case."

Nash, 29, of Cleveland Heights, pleaded guilty in August to 20 counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud.

Investigators pointed to her as the mastermind behind a scheme to collect unemployment.

The scheme involved the Full Circle Fund, which purported to give struggling families help getting vouchers to pay for utilities, food, childcare, credit card debt and job training.

Nash and her counterparts stole the identities of many people who signed up for the program. They then set up fictitious companies in Ohio, California, North Carolina, Texas, Indiana and Kansas and received unemployment benefits under the stolen identities.

On Wednesday, Nash – who also goes by the names "Slayana Berts" and "Yanna" – argued that the scheme was set up to pay for her transition and the surgery. Her sentencing memorandum, compiled by her and her attorney, tried to make a case for a lighter sentence based on the violence and discrimination that many transgender individuals receive in society.

Nash, in a long letter to the judge and in person Wednesday, said she has undergone the same discrimination by her foster parents and fellow inmates. She also suffers from gender dysphoria, a psychological condition where a person suffers stress or depression due to a conflict between their gender identity and their biological sex.

"That's not a benign pathology," Nash said. "I've dealt with it for years and years."

Richard Drucker, Nash's attorney, said Nash has undergone facial reconstructive surgery, a shaved Adam's apple, and breast augmentation. However, she still has to undergo more procedures to fully become a woman, he said.

He also tried to argue, that the pain and suffering Nash has undergone as a transgender in society has fueled her criminal history, and that it would be unsafe for her to be put in with male inmates in prison – which he said was likely.

"That's just a terrible cross to bear in our society," Drucker said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kendra Klump, however, said "greed was a significant factor in this conspiracy," and that Nash had actually devised the scheme to collect more than $1 million.

She pointed to the money laundering count, which stemmed from Nash purchasing a Land Rover with the stolen money.

"I'm not quite sure how a Land Rover relates to transgender issues," Klump said.

Nugent also rebuffed a claim made by defense attorneys that Nash's previous convictions were nonviolent. He cited two aggravated robberies Nash committed when she was a teenager, as well as a police chase that happened after a shots fired call.

"You have a record of theft, but you also have a record of extraordinary violence," Nugent said.

Klump and Nugent pointed out that the Federal Bureau of Prisons is equipped to treat those with dysphoria.

Three others who worked with Nash, Kennard Berts, Dwayne Buchannan and Justin Davis, previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme. Berts – Nash's boyfriend whom she refers to in a letter as her husband – was sentenced to 61 months in prison. Nugent sentenced Buchannan got 54 months, while Davis got 74 months.

All four were ordered to pay the stolen money back.

Nash has pending charges in Pennsylvania and Alabama.

She pleaded guilty in 2009 to attempted identity-theft charges in Summit County for her role in the Ohio Advantage Program – which was similar to the Full Circle Fund.

She was also convicted of using a false Shaker Heights address to cast a ballot in the 2008 presidential election, registering to vote nine times under false names.