A Goshen Township dog breeder has pleaded guilty to taking payments from victims for puppies she never provided.
April Waidman, 40, pleaded guilty to more than 80 charges, including 45 felony thefts and 26 misdemeanor thefts.
Waidman is scheduled for sentencing on April 24. Prosecutors are recommending a six-month jail sentence and five years on probation. They are also recommending that a judge prohibit her from breeding dogs while on probation.
Debbie Saluga, one of the victims, hopes Waidman will be sentenced to prison.
“I find it unbelievable that she can scam that many people for that amount of money and this has been going on for a couple of years now,” Saluga told reporters.
Saluga asked Waidman for a mini dachshund and paid $800, but she never received her new companion.
“I mean she still has that arrogance about her and no I don’t think that she’s taken accountability,” Saluga informed me. “I think she just wants it to be over.”
Waidman has been breeding dogs for an unknown period of time. Prosecutors claim she legitimately sold some dogs to people who never had any problems, but she failed to keep her promises to everyone.
“There were others who received animals and became very sick, resulting in veterinary bills,” Mahoning County Prosecutor Lynn Maro said. “…The ones that were included that she pled guilty to, individuals never received animals.”
32 charges were initially filed in April 2024, with 39 more filed in June of the same year.
Waidman was initially charged after several criminal and civil suits were filed against her by residents of the Mahoning Valley and beyond who accused her of accepting money but never delivering their puppies. These cases involve more than $106,000 allegedly taken from prospective dog owners.
