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ISCR Case 20-01277 — CASE

ISCR Case 20-01277granted

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 20-01277

grantedDec 13, 2022· Hon. Erin C. Hogan· hearing

Summary

A 43-year-old overseas contractor was granted a security clearance despite initial concerns under Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The Statement of Reasons (SOR) alleged that the applicant failed to file federal income tax returns for the years 2013 through 2018.

However, before the SOR was issued, the applicant resolved all outstanding tax issues by filing every overdue return. He is now current on all federal income tax filings and has no outstanding debt to the IRS.

Applying mitigating conditions, the judge determined that the applicant's past financial issues do not compromise his reliability or trustworthiness. Consequently, the applicant was granted eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant filed all overdue tax returns before the SOR was issued.
He is current on all federal income tax filings and owes no money to the IRS.
The judge found that the applicant's financial issues do not impact his reliability or trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20appliedMitigating Condition 1The applicant filed all tax returns and is current on his tax obligations.
AG ¶ 20appliedMitigating Condition 2The applicant's financial issues were resolved prior to the hearing.

Key Rule Quoted

“The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubt about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issued—
Answer filedNov 10, 2020Applicant timely answered the SOR.
Hearing heldOct 27, 2022Hearing conducted via video-teleconference.
Decision dateDec 13, 2022Decision issued by Judge Erin C. Hogan.

Cite For

Resolution of Tax Issues Under Guideline F
Current Compliance with Tax Obligations as a Mitigating Factor
Impact of Financial Issues 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: granted

The applicant failed to file his Federal income tax returns for the tax years 2013 through 2018. However, he filed all overdue returns before the Statement of Reasons was issued and is current on all subsequent tax filings, leading to a decision to grant his security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file his Federal income tax returns for the tax years 2013 through 2018.	For Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	(b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly	Documented Tax Returns Filed Late

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.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

______________ ______________ DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS In the matter of: ) ) [Name Redacted] ) ISCR Case No. 20-01277 ) Applicant for Security Clearance ) Appearances For Government: Sakeena Farhath, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: Pro se 12/13/2022 Decision HOGAN, ERIN C., Administrative Judge: The Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DOD CAF) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to Applicant detailing the security concerns under Guideline F, Financial Considerations (Date of the SOR is unspecified.). The action was taken under Executive Order (EO) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; Department of Defense Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the adjudicative guidelines (AG) implemented within the Department of Defense on June 8, 2017. On November 10, 2020, Applicant timely answered the SOR and requested a hearing. The case was assigned to another administrative judge on November 2, 2021. The case was transferred to me on June 14, 2022. The hearing was held via video- teleconference on October 27, 2022. The record was held open until November 28, 2022, to allow Applicant to submit additional documents. Applicant timely submitted additional documents on that date. Department Counsel indicated they had no objection to the evidence on December 7, 2022. The record closed on that date. On December 9, 2022, I proposed to the parties that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in

Applicant’s favor. Applicant did not object. Department Counsel had 10 days to consider the matter and provided written notice that Department Counsel did not object on December 9, 2022. The sole SOR allegation was that Applicant failed to file his Federal income tax returns for the tax years 2013 through 2018. Applicant is a 43-year-old contractor who works overseas. In December 2013, he married a woman who is a citizen of the foreign country where he resides. His wife works for a foreign company and has never resided in the US. She is not a dual citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. His tax issues began when he attempted to get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) for his wife from the IRS. The IRS was non-responsive. He even attempted to get an ITIN when he was back in the US visiting family. Applicant believed he could not file his federal income tax returns without an ITIN for his wife. He indicated this issue on his November 2018 security clearance application. During his subsequent security clearance background investigation, Applicant was advised to file his federal income tax returns with a single status. Once his wife received an ITIN, he could amend the federal income tax returns. (Gov 4 at 6) Applicant pursued this course of action and completed and filed all returns before the SOR was issued. He owes no money to the IRS. He has filed all subsequent federal income tax returns for tax years 2019, 2020, and 2021. He is current on all of his income tax filings and has no delinquent debts. (AE A - AE D) The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubt about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole and considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence or vice versa. I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I conclude that he met his ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant him eligibility for access to classified information. This case is decided for Applicant. Erin C. Hogan Administrative Judge