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ISCR Case 19-01126 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 19-01126

A decided public DOHA case, shown for research — not advice or a prediction.

Case Profile
Decision Date8/19/2019
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Noreen A. Lynch
Government Counsel: Andrea M. Corrales
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 28-year-old employee of a federal contractor who sought a security clearance. The Department of Defense (DOD) raised security concerns under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for the years 2015 and 2016, as well as for 2014. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) outlined these financial issues, which the applicant admitted, citing immaturity and disorganization as contributing factors.
The applicant provided various explanations for his non-filing, including a preference for filing every three years and a lack of awareness regarding the urgency of his tax obligations. He claimed to have recently submitted his tax returns for the years in question but did not provide evidence that they were filed or that any taxes owed were paid. The administrative judge found that the applicant's admissions and the lack of substantial evidence to demonstrate a good-faith effort to resolve his tax issues did not mitigate the security concerns.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he had not demonstrated the reliability or good judgment necessary for a security clearance. The judge determined that the applicant's financial irresponsibility raised significant questions about his trustworthiness, leading to the denial of his eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 19-01126

deniedAug 19, 2019· Hon. Noreen A. Lynch· hearing

Summary

A 28-year-old federal contractor was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to unaddressed tax obligations. The Statement of Reasons alleged that the applicant failed to file both federal and state income tax returns for the 2015 and 2016 tax years. These allegations raised disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines paragraphs 19(a), 19(c), and 19(f).

The applicant admitted to not filing the specified tax returns. However, the denial was based on the applicant's failure to provide evidence that these returns had since been filed or that any outstanding taxes had been paid.

Ultimately, the applicant's explanations for not filing were not considered sufficient to mitigate the financial security concerns. Consequently, the security clearance was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for 2015 and 2016, which he admitted.
The applicant did not provide evidence of having filed the tax returns or paid any taxes owed.
The applicant's reasons for not filing were deemed insufficient to mitigate the security concerns.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)appliedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)appliedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
AG ¶ 19(f)appliedFailure to File or Fraudulently Filing Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax Returns or Failure to Pay Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax as Required

Key Rule Quoted

“Eligibility for a security clearance is predicated upon the applicant meeting the criteria contained in the adjudicative guidelines.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedApr 12, 2019
Answer filed—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Hearing held—Decision based on written record.
Decision dateAug 19, 2019

Cite For

Failure to File Tax Returns as a Disqualifying Condition Under Guideline F
Insufficient Evidence of Mitigation in Financial Considerations Cases
Importance of Demonstrating Good Judgment and Reliability for Security Clearance Eligibility

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on financial considerations due to failure to file federal and state income tax returns for the years 2015 and 2016. Despite the applicant's claims of immaturity and attempts to rectify the situation by filing returns for previous years, the judge concluded that the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to mitigate the security concerns.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file Federal income tax returns for tax years 2015 and 2016.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations (f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse
1.b	Applicant failed to file state income tax returns for tax years 2015 and 2016.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations (f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse

Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case (Guideline F). The verbatim source decision is shown in full below.

Full decision

The complete, official text — footnotes and signatures included — is in the original PDF.