A Goshen Township dog breeder who scammed numerous victims out of more than $106,000 has learned her fate.

April Waidman was sentenced to one year of house arrest and five years of probation on 45 felony theft charges and 26 more misdemeanor theft charges. She must also pay all of her victims back.

At the end of her probation, she could face up to six months in jail. This would be decided by another judge Additionally, if Waidman fails to pay all of her victims back or violates any of the conditions of her probation, she could spend up to 35 months in prison. During probation she must also keep a full-time job and undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment. 

Waidman's charges all stem from multiple criminal and civil cases filed by folks in the Mahoning Valley and beyond who had contacted Waidman to purchase puppies from her.

While, Waidman accepted these victims' payments for the puppies, the puppies were never actually delivered.

During her sentencing, the prosecution described Waidman as a "well-versed criminal" with her crimes dating all the way back to 2017 and said Waidman's scheme was one of the "most intricate" criminal cases he had ever seen.

Victim impact statements were submitted to the court by numerous people who either never received a puppy from Waidman or received one with health problems.

One statement from a victim named Donna Kutzer said she really trusted Waidman and is hurt that she took advantage of so many customers.

"She stole from innocent people. The amount of money she scammed [people out of] is unbelievable. ... My money that I have invested and nothing in return hurts," the statement reads.

This victim also stated that she did receive adult dogs from Waidman, but one had to be put down due to illness and another needed to have all of its teeth removed due to living in a crate.

Another statement from Jamie Schmeelk of Easton, Pennsylvania says she paid Waidman $1,000 for a mini Daschund from a litter, but once that litter was born, she was told the puppies were either already spoken for or had medical issues.

She had since been promised first pick of other litters, but still never got them despite a $1,000 payment and assurance that she would get a puppy.

"I now believe this was a deliberate and fraudulent act intended to deceive me and unlawfully obtain money," the statement reads.

Another victim, Hannah Baker, stated that she had to wait at least four litters to get a puppy and when she finally did, the puppy was diagnosed with Coccidia, Giardia and hookworms despite paperwork from Waidman that the puppy had been dewormed, vaccinated and ready to go with a "clean bill of health" from an actual vet.

When Baker contacted Waidman about this, all she did was tell her to bring the puppy back and offered her a new one despite the bond she had already formed with the one she got.

"Despite knowing how sick the puppy was, [Waidman] offered no support, no refund and no genuine concern. Just another offer to 'swap' her out," the statement reads.

Victim Janet Jordan said she had contacted Waidman to get a puppy as an emotional support animal (ESA) for her daughter who was dealing with trauma.

Jordan said the puppy she was promised turned out to be very sick, and when she asked for her deposit back, Waidman refused to refund her despite assurance that she would when the victim first put down the deposit.

"My daughter was crushed. She cried inconsolably for weeks. Her mental health spiraled. I felt at a loss of what to do for her and desperately sought to find another breeder to find an ESA for my daughter," the statement reads.

One victim impact statement from Leslie Kuska acted as an open letter to April addressing her directly:

"April:

I tried to help you; you lied, cheated people out of money with your self serving Ponzi scheme.

What has probably never come up is the thousands of dollars you've won playing bingo, doing online betting and gambling none of which was used to make restitution. All given to your fiancé' who used it for racing cars and fast food.

But here is the real crime, HOW ABOUT THE DOGS YOU KILLED FROM LACK OF VET CARE? CARLY: she died because you didn't get her a c-section for her litter of seven puppies - now that is tragic.

And the cream girl, same thing.

You never learn your lesson and for that reason you should sit in jail and reflect on your choices. If you're sitting in house arrest you'll chain smoke, eat a ton of fast food and learn nothing except how to get away with hurting people and animals. Plus, you won't sit there …

You should never be allowed to breed anything or own a companion animal, and you should make full restitution even if it means selling your house.

You thought you knew everything- you didn't and don't So cavalier. Yes jail time for the purposes of reflection is what you need as history without a break, has a way of repeating itself."

Even more victim impact statements were given by people present in the courtroom with one saying Waidman's crimes has caused conflicts with him and his wife and stopped his own breeding program.

Another victim, Debbie Saluga, said she bought a puppy for $800 as a retirement gift for herself, but soon learned that Waidman would no longer be breeding puppies. After she inquired about a refund, Waidman refused to assure her that she would be refunded in full.

She added that Waidman began acting hostile toward her when she continued to push for her money back.

"I did file a small claims court case. The judge ruled in my favor that she owed me $800 plus court costs and interest. When the judge announced his ruling miss Waidman stormed out of the courtroom," Saluga said.

Waidman did not address any of the victims in court. Her attorney did indicate that she has already paid some of the victims back totaling more than $10,000. 

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