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ISCR Case 19-01429 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 19-01429

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

Case Profile
Decision Date4/15/2020
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Noreen A. Lynch
Government Counsel: Brittany C. M. White
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 62-year-old retired U.S. Navy veteran who had held a security clearance since 1978 and had been employed as a contractor for approximately 20 years. The Department of Defense (DoD) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing concerns under Guideline F (Financial Considerations), alleging that the applicant had significant debts, including past-due federal income taxes totaling approximately $195,720, a past-due mortgage account, and two collection student loan accounts. The applicant admitted to the debts but disputed the total amounts and claimed he was working with a tax attorney to establish a repayment plan.
The administrative judge found that the applicant's financial issues were primarily due to his failure to file tax returns and pay taxes owed over several years, despite having a substantial income. The applicant had made some efforts to address his mortgage and student loan debts, but the judge noted a lack of consistent and proactive measures to resolve his financial problems. The judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he had not demonstrated sufficient financial responsibility or a good-faith effort to resolve his debts, which raised concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness in handling classified information. Consequently, the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information was denied.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 19-01429

deniedApr 15, 2020· Hon. Noreen A. Lynch· hearing

Summary

A 62-year-old retired Navy veteran was denied a security clearance under Guideline F, Financial Considerations, due to significant and unresolved financial issues. The Statement of Reasons detailed several outstanding debts, including $195,720 owed to the Federal Government for past-due income taxes from 2009 through 2017. Additionally, the applicant had a past-due mortgage account totaling $10,951, two student loan accounts in collection amounting to $81,695, and an outstanding judgment from 2017 for $7,733.

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to demonstrate consistent effort in resolving these substantial debts. The judge found a lack of proactive and responsible action in managing the financial obligations.

Ultimately, the applicant's financial irresponsibility raised serious concerns regarding reliability and trustworthiness, leading to the denial of the security clearance. The decision highlighted insufficient evidence of a consistent and proactive approach to debt management.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to demonstrate a consistent effort to resolve significant financial issues, including substantial tax debts and unpaid student loans.
The applicant's financial irresponsibility raised serious concerns about reliability and trustworthiness.
The applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of a proactive approach to managing his debts.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(b)raisedUnwillingness to Satisfy Debts Regardless of the Ability to Do So
AG ¶ 19(c)raisedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
AG ¶ 19(f)raisedFailure to File or Fraudulently Filing Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax Returns or Failure to Pay Income Tax as Required

Key Rule Quoted

“Failure to live within one's means, satisfy debts, and meet financial obligations may indicate poor self-control, lack of judgment, or unwillingness to abide by rules and regulations, all of which can raise questions about an individual's reliability, trustworthiness, and ability to protect classified or sensitive information.”
— AG ¶ 18

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJul 26, 2019
Answer filed—
Hearing heldFeb 28, 2020
Decision dateApr 15, 2020

Cite For

Financial Irresponsibility as a Disqualifying Factor Under Guideline F
Lack of Consistent Effort to Resolve Financial Issues
Impact of Financial Obligations on Reliability and Trustworthiness

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: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found multiple financial concerns under Guideline F, including significant tax debts, a mortgage account, student loan collections, and a judgment against the applicant. Ultimately, the judge ruled against the applicant on all allegations, concluding that the applicant did not meet the burden of proof to mitigate the financial issues.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant is indebted to the Federal Government for past-due income taxes for tax years 2009 through 2017 for a total amount of $195,720. $195,720	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Admitted	(b) unwillingness to satisfy debts regardless of ability (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations (f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	—
1.i	Applicant has a past-due mortgage account in the amount of $10,951. $10,951	Against Applicant	Mortgage or Home Loan Debt	Admitted	(b) unwillingness to satisfy debts regardless of ability (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.j	Applicant has two collection student loan accounts totaling $81,695. $81,695	Against Applicant	Student Loan Debt	Admitted	(b) unwillingness to satisfy debts regardless of ability (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.l	A judgment placed in 2017 in the amount of $7,733. $7,733	Against Applicant	Judgment Against Applicant	Admitted	(b) unwillingness to satisfy debts regardless of ability (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—

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.