Nine of those people cried as they recounted to Judge Patricia Oney prior to sentencing how Andres bilked them out of their money and the vacation packages they were promised. They said Andres even used her own sister’s illness to raise funds under false pretenses.
Jennifer Dendler, of Liberty Twp., said she and her husband invested in Andres’ travel business and had fundraisers for Andres’ sister, who suffers from MS, only to learn the business never existed and her sister did not benefit from the cash raised.
“Lisa was a close friend of mine who used our friendship and my trust for personal gain,” Dendler said. “My husband and I believed in Lisa’s business and invested in it. We were hoping to be able to help our children with their college funds. We also believed Lisa was in desperate need of help for her sister.”
Dendler said she later learned Andres was using the money to gamble and for her own entertainment.
“It has been proven she was gambling large amounts of money on several different occasions. She was considered a high roller at the Hollywood Casino in Lawrenceburg, Ind. She was seen on video surveillance at both Miami Valley Gaming and Hollywood Casino Columbus,” Dendler said. “I feel strongly that Lisa Andres needs professional help and maximum incarceration. She will continue to find ways to deceive and manipulate others if she is not held accountable for her actions.”
Several area victims, including the instructor of a dance team who booked a trip through Andres then discovered the team had no hotel rooms when they arrived at a Florida competition, told the judge about the stress and pain caused to children and adults when Andres failed to book trips that she took money for.
Ray and Kathleen White, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., said Andres took $2,700 from them that was supposed to be used to go on a Disney trip with their grandchildren.
“We were unable to come up with additional money to take the trip,” Ray White said as his wife, Kathleen, cried in the back of the courtroom. She is now in a wheelchair and doubts she will ever be physically able to take the trip she dreamed of with her grandchildren.
“She stole precious moments from our family,” White said.
Denette Callahan, of Indiana, told the judge she grew up with Andres in West Virginia and she has known her since they were nine years old. Her family lost $20,000 to Andres.
“The money was given to her for travel that never came to be or to help care for her sister … who continues to battle MS,” Callahan said. “I represent over 30 years of friendship, trust and compassion that have been destroyed. I represent the churches, the classmates and the community who were preyed on financially and emotionally. I am here as an example that there is no limit to who Lisa will manipulate for her own personal gain.”
Andres was arrested in May 2014 at a Hollywood Casino, where police and prosecutors believe she spent much of the money taken from victims.
Andres has been held in the Butler County Jail since her arrest and will receive credit for the 272 days she has served. Oney also ordered her to pay restitution of $104,000. She made no statements in court.
The victims clapped as Andres left the courtroom after sentencing. Most thought she should have received a more severe sentence, but Assistant Butler County Prosecutor Gloria Sigman explained for all but one count that she pleaded to she could have received community control.
In January 2014, Andres also pleaded guilty to four counts of forgery, fifth-degree felonies, in Butler County Common Pleas Court for forging signatures to withdraw $1,600.20 from her disabled sister’s Social Security benefits account, according to court documents. Oney placed Andres on five years community control for the forgery charges.
In addition to the Butler County charges, Andres is also facing a first-degree misdemeanor in Warren County for taking $425 to reserve rooms in a Lexington, Ky., hotel, but failing to book the rooms, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.
Andres allegedly told one of the victims that she could book vacations at a discounted rate because she belonged to a Disney Vacation Club timeshare, according to a Mason police report.
Andres is scheduled to be in Warren County Common Pleas Court on Feb 10.
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