Qld Rail worker Christopher Joseph Neisler used taxpayer money to buy $90k of tools, gear

A former Queensland Rail employee has been jailed for brazen fraud over seven years to buy tools, equipment and materials, some of which were used for home renovations.

Former Queensland Rail employee Christopher Joseph Neisler, 51, has been jailed for fraudulently using taxpayer funds over seven years to order almost $90,000 worth of tools, equipment and materials.

A former Queensland Rail employee has been jailed for fraudulently using taxpayer funds over seven years to order almost $90,000 worth of tools, equipment and materials that he then used for himself or for his home renovations.

The work orders included the likes of tools and solar panels, which police found when they raided the man’s home, and even roof racks, which were found on the man’s vehicle.

Christopher Joseph Neisler, 51, was employed by Queensland Rail for more than 20 years as a work co-ordinator, in charge of ordering tools and materials for use in plumbing maintenance work across the rail network.

During a sentencing hearing in Brisbane District Court on Monday, Crown prosecutor Sinead Butler said there were 76 fraudulent transactions totalling $88,294.

Police searched Neisler’s house in May 2022, with the offending having occurred in the previous seven years, and found his home was undergoing renovations.

Christopher Joseph Neisler, 51, was employed by Queensland Rail for more than 20 years as a work co-ordinator.

Ms Butler said officers found fraudulently obtained tools and materials, including solar panels and batteries, at Neisler’s home, and fraudulently obtained roof racks on his car.

Ms Butler told the court that while 54 fraudulently obtained items had been recovered and returned to Queensland Rail, totalling around $54,000 in value, much of the “stolen property” cannot be reused or repurposed because Neisler had used them for his own purposes.

Ms Butler also said she had struggled to find any comparable past cases to reference, mainly due to the offending spanning seven years.

Defence barrister Joshua Fenton said Neisler had no criminal history, had pleaded guilty to the single fraud charge at an early opportunity, and had offered to pay $45,000 in compensation to Queensland Rail.

“He has put himself in a position where he has suffered public disgrace from the only job he had since leaving school and will further suffer loss to his family due to the loss of income,” Mr Fenton told the court.

Judge David Kent said Christopher Joseph Neisler had engaged in “extremely serious criminal conduct”, which carried a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Picture: Tara Croser

Mr Fenton said Neisler was his family’s main income earner and now works for his brother’s company in a supervisor role, while his wife had found work as a teacher.

In sentencing, Judge David Kent said Neisler had engaged in “extremely serious criminal conduct”, which carried a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.

Judge Kent said Neisler’s conduct had been described as “brazen and persistent” in ordering tools and materials, some of which had nothing to do with the Queensland Rail operations.

“The offending was motivated in part it seems by anger at Queensland Rail, and your perception perhaps that they were not as safety conscious as they might have been, but that doesn’t of course justify stealing from them,” his Honour said on Monday.

The court heard Neisler had three children, including a 16-year-old girl with autism. He had coached his children’s sporting teams, but lost his blue card after being charged by police.

He had been diagnosed by a forensic psychologist as suffering from depression and anxiety.

Judge Kent gave Neisler a 3½-year prison sentence, but ordered the jail term be suspended for a period of four years once Neisler has served three months behind bars.

He recorded a conviction and formally ordered Neisler to pay $45,000 in compensation to Queensland Rail, as he had already offered to do.