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ISCR Case 21-01199 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 21-01199

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

Case Profile
Decision Date9/20/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Judge: Candace Le'i Garcia
Government Counsel: Nicole A. Smith
Applicant's Counsel: Carl Anthony Marrone
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 60-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen originally from China, who sought a security clearance after being employed by defense contractors. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under multiple guidelines, including sexual behavior, use of information technology, personal conduct, and foreign influence. The core allegations included the applicant's past termination from a job due to inappropriate use of company resources and his ongoing connections with family members residing in China.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to the allegations regarding his past employment and the use of a personal USB drive containing adult pornography, which he claimed he had not accessed since 2000. He also acknowledged maintaining contact with family members in China but denied any affiliations with the Chinese government or military. The applicant attempted to mitigate concerns by emphasizing his commitment to the U.S. and his donations to organizations opposing the Chinese Communist Party.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that while some concerns were mitigated, the foreign influence issues remained unresolved. The judge noted the applicant's significant ties to China, including family relationships and financial support, which raised concerns about potential foreign influence on his loyalty and judgment. Consequently, the applicant's eligibility for access to classified information was denied.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline BForeign Influence · Against Applicant
- Guideline DSexual Behavior · For Applicant
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · For Applicant
- Guideline MUse of Information Technology · For Applicant
Similar decisions
Other decisions whose allegations read most like this one. Descriptive similarity of the allegations only — not a prediction.
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 21-01199

deniedSep 20, 2023· Hon. Candace Le'i Garcia· hearing

Summary

A 60-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen, originally from China, was denied a security clearance primarily due to concerns under Guideline B (Foreign Influence). The Statement of Reasons cited that his mother, sisters, and mother-in-law are citizens and residents of China. The judge determined that these strong familial ties in China posed a heightened risk of foreign exploitation and that the applicant did not demonstrate he would resolve any conflict of interest in favor of U.S. interests.

Additional concerns were initially raised under Guideline D (Sexual Behavior), Guideline E (Personal Conduct), and Guideline M (Use of Information Technology). These stemmed from an incident in 2015 where the applicant inserted a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer, violating company policy. This action triggered an alarm at his then-employer, indicating that child pornography had been accessed.

While the applicant successfully mitigated the concerns related to sexual behavior, use of information technology, and personal conduct, the unresolved foreign influence issues led to the denial of his security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant has strong ties to family members in China, which pose a heightened risk of foreign exploitation.
The applicant did not demonstrate that he would resolve any conflict of interest in favor of U.S. interests.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 7(a)appliedContact with Foreign Family Members
AG ¶ 7(b)appliedConnections to a Foreign Government
AG ¶ 7(e)appliedShared Living Quarters with Foreign Persons

Mitigating

AG ¶ 14(b)appliedBehavior Unlikely to Recur
AG ¶ 41(a)appliedTime Elapsed Since Behavior
AG ¶ 17(c)appliedMinor Offense or Time Passed
AG ¶ 17(d)appliedAcknowledgment of Behavior and Positive Steps

Key Rule Quoted

“Any doubt concerning personnel being considered for national security eligibility will be resolved in favor of the national security.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedNov 24, 2021
Answer filedFeb 3, 2022
Hearing heldApr 12, 2023via video teleconference with a Mandarin Chinese translator.
Decision dateSep 20, 2023

Cite For

Heightened Risk of Foreign Exploitation Due to Familial Ties Under Guideline B
Mitigating Factors Related to Personal Conduct Under Guidelines D, M, and E
The Importance of Resolving Doubts in Favor of National Security.

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 B (Foreign Influence) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on foreign influence concerns due to familial ties in China. The applicant's mother, sisters, and mother-in-law are citizens and residents of China, which raised security concerns that were not mitigated despite the applicant's claims of remorse and intent to remain in the U.S.

Country conditions:the decision took administrative notice of official facts about the foreign country (the Government’s country submission).

U.S. ties the decision noted: Intent to Remain in U.S.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Relationship	Country	Response	Disqualifying (¶7)	Mitigating applied (¶8)	Mitigation
4.c	Applicant’s mother, sisters, and mother-in-law are citizens and residents of China.	For Applicant	Parent in Foreign Country Immediate Family	China HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—
4.d	Applicant’s mother-in-law is a Chinese citizen residing in China.	Against Applicant	In Law in Foreign Country Immediate Family	China HEIGHTENED RISK	Admitted	—	—	—
4.a–4.b	2 sub-charges — specific text not stated in this decision (against the applicant). (low confidence)	Against Applicant	Unspecified Foreign Relationship Other	—		—	—	—

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline D (Sexual Behavior) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the Applicant engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior by inserting a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer, which led to an alarm indicating that child pornography had been accessed. Although the Applicant expressed remorse and claimed to have learned from his actions, the judge ultimately ruled against him, denying his eligibility for access to classified information.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶13)	Mitigating applied (¶14)	Mitigation
1.a	In violation of company policy, Applicant inserted a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer in 2015, and his then-employer consequently received an alarm that child pornography had been accessed.	For Applicant	Online Sexual Misconduct	Admitted	—	(a) the behavior occurred prior to or during adolescence and there is no evidence of subsequent similar conduct	Claimed Other
1.b	As a result of Applicant’s action, his then-employer received an alarm that child pornography had been accessed.	For Applicant	Unspecified Sexual Behavior	Admitted	—	(a) the behavior occurred prior to or during adolescence and there is no evidence of subsequent similar conduct	Claimed Other

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant engaged in personal conduct by inserting a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer, which led to an alarm indicating that child pornography had been accessed. Although the applicant expressed remorse and claimed to have learned from the incident, the judge ultimately denied eligibility for access to classified information, indicating that the personal conduct concerns were not sufficiently mitigated.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
3.a	In violation of company policy, Applicant inserted a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer in 2015, and his then-employer consequently received an alarm that child pornography had been accessed.	For Applicant	Rules Violation at Workplace	—	Denied	—	—	Claimed Acknowledgment and Remorse

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline M (Use of Information Technology) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge addressed concerns under Guideline M regarding the Applicant's use of information technology, specifically the unauthorized insertion of a personal USB hard disk containing adult pornography into a work-issued computer. Although the Applicant expressed remorse and claimed to have learned from the incident, the judge ultimately ruled against the Applicant, citing the severity of the violation and the implications of accessing inappropriate content on a work device.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶40)	Mitigating applied (¶41)	Mitigation
2.a	In violation of company policy, Applicant inserted a personal USB hard disk containing extensive adult pornography into his work-issued computer in 2015, and his then-employer consequently received an alarm that child pornography had been accessed.	For Applicant	Pornography or Inappropriate Content on System	Admitted	(g) negligence or lax security practices in handling IT that persists despite counseling by management	(a) so much time has elapsed since the behavior, or it happened under such unusual circumstances, that it is unlikely to recur and does not cast doubt on …	Claimed Other

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

Full decision

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