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ISCR Case 21-01406 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 21-01406

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

Case Profile
Decision Date7/28/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Pamela C. Benson
Government Counsel: Rhett E. Petcher
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 67-year-old former Marine Corps officer seeking a security clearance. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline F (financial considerations), primarily due to the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years and a significant unresolved tax delinquency. The SOR detailed 13 allegations related to his financial issues, including unpaid taxes and debts.
During the hearing, the applicant admitted to 11 of the 13 allegations, acknowledging his failure to file tax returns for 2019 and 2020, and his substantial tax debts totaling over $200,000. He explained that he had been working with tax defense firms to resolve his tax issues but had not made payments on his delinquent taxes, stating he would not do so until a repayment agreement was established. The applicant claimed he had a monthly budget that would allow him to address his tax debts once a plan was in place, but he did not provide documentation to support his claims of good-faith efforts to resolve his financial issues.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he did not mitigate the financial considerations security concern. The judge noted the applicant's long-standing tax issues, lack of timely payments, and insufficient evidence of efforts to resolve his debts. The decision emphasized that the applicant's financial distress raised questions about his reliability and trustworthiness, ultimately leading to the denial of his national security eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against 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. 21-01406

deniedJul 28, 2023· Hon. Pamela C. Benson· hearing

Summary

A 67-year-old former Marine Corps officer was denied a security clearance under Guideline F, Financial Considerations, due to significant unresolved tax delinquencies and a history of failing to file tax returns. The Statement of Reasons detailed multiple allegations, including the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years, resulting in a significant unresolved tax delinquency.

Specific concerns included unfiled federal tax returns for Tax Years 2019 and 2020, which remained unfiled as of January 31, 2023. The applicant also had an outstanding debt of $56,014 to a bank for a charged-off second mortgage loan. Additionally, he was indebted to State B for delinquent taxes from Tax Year 2000 in the amount of $18,000 and from Tax Year 2002 in the amount of $5,000.

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years, a significant unresolved tax delinquency totaling approximately $202,000, and his inability to provide supporting documentation demonstrating good-faith efforts to resolve these financial issues. These factors raised concerns about his reliability and judgment.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years.
He has a significant unresolved tax delinquency totaling approximately $202,000.
The applicant did not provide supporting documentation to demonstrate good-faith efforts to remedy his tax issues.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(c)appliedHistory 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

“A person who seeks access to classified information enters into a fiduciary relationship with the Government predicated upon trust and confidence.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJan 31, 2021
Answer filednullApplicant represented himself pro se.
Hearing heldJun 13, 2023Hearing was held as scheduled.
Decision dateJul 28, 2023

Cite For

Failure to Mitigate Financial Concerns Under Guideline F
Significant Unresolved Tax Delinquencies as a Disqualifying Factor
Lack of Good-faith Efforts to Resolve Financial Issues Affecting 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: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found multiple financial concerns under Guideline F, including significant unresolved tax delinquencies and a charged-off second mortgage. The applicant's failure to file tax returns and make payments on debts led to a decision against him.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years, and he has a significant unresolved tax delinquency.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant did not provide supporting documentation to demonstrate any good-faith efforts to remedy this matter.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—
1.c	Applicant is indebted to a bank in the amount of $56,014, for a second mortgage loan that was charged off. $56,014	Against Applicant	Mortgage or Home Loan Debt	Admitted	—	—	—
1.d	Applicant has a significant outstanding federal and state tax debt. $202,000	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Admitted	—	—	—
1.e	Applicant failed to timely file his federal income tax returns for TYs 2019 and 2020, and as of January 31, 2023, these federal tax returns remained unfiled.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.f	Applicant has not made payments to the IRS over the years because a repayment agreement is not yet in place.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—
1.g	Applicant has a history of not meeting financial obligations.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—
1.h	Applicant failed to file federal income tax returns for multiple years, and he has a significant unresolved tax delinquency.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.i	Applicant did not provide supporting documentation to demonstrate any good-faith efforts to remedy this matter.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—
1.j	Applicant is indebted to State B for delinquent TY 2000 taxes in the amount of $18,000, and delinquent taxes in the amount of $5,000 for TY 2002. $23,000	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Admitted	—	—	—
1.k	Applicant has a significant unresolved tax delinquency.	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Admitted	—	—	—
1.l	Applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for multiple years, and he has a significant unresolved tax delinquency.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.m	Applicant did not provide supporting documentation to demonstrate any good-faith efforts to remedy this matter.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—

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

Full decision

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