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ISCR Case 21-02471 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 21-02471

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

Case Profile
Decision Date6/8/2023
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Gatha Manns
Government Counsel: Karen A. Moreno-Sayles
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 34-year-old individual who sought a security clearance and faced allegations under Guideline F (financial considerations) due to significant delinquent debts totaling approximately $32,000. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) outlined 11 delinquent debts, including both consumer accounts and defaulted student loans. The applicant admitted to all allegations in the SOR and attributed her financial difficulties to a combination of unemployment, being a single mother, and economic challenges.
Key facts established included the applicant's history of financial distress, which began after being laid off in April 2018. Although she had secured employment with a federal contractor since August 2020, she had not demonstrated sufficient progress in addressing her debts. The applicant entered into a debt resolution contract in August 2022, after the issuance of the SOR, but failed to provide evidence of actual payments made under this agreement. The administrative judge noted that while the applicant's financial issues were partially mitigated by her efforts to resolve some debts, the timing of these actions raised concerns about her judgment and reliability.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against the applicant, denying her eligibility for access to classified information. The decision emphasized that the applicant's financial problems were not sufficiently mitigated and that her actions to address these issues were reactive rather than proactive, which did not instill confidence in her reliability and trustworthiness.
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. 21-02471

deniedJun 8, 2023· Hon. Gatha Manns· hearing

Summary

Gatha Manns, a 34-year-old applicant, was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to 11 delinquent debts totaling approximately $32,000. The Statement of Reasons detailed four delinquent consumer accounts amounting to about $15,100 and seven defaulted student loans totaling around $16,900, indicating a history of financial problems.

Disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guideline (AG) ¶ 19(a) and AG ¶ 19(c) were raised. While AG ¶ 20(d) (mitigating conditions) was considered, it was not sufficient to overcome the concerns.

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to provide sufficient evidence of responsible action or good faith efforts to repay the debts. The judge determined that the financial issues were ongoing and had not been resolved within a reasonable period, thereby casting doubt on Manns' reliability and trustworthiness for a national security position.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

Applicant failed to provide sufficient evidence of responsible action or good faith efforts to repay debts.
The judge found that financial issues were ongoing and cast doubt on the applicant's reliability and trustworthiness.
The applicant's financial problems were not resolved within a reasonable period.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)appliedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)appliedHistory of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20(d)rejectedGood-faith Effort to Repay Overdue CreditorsThe applicant's efforts to resolve debts were deemed insufficient as they occurred after the SOR was issued and lacked proof of payments.

Key Rule Quoted

“Eligibility for access to classified information is denied.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedFeb 1, 2022
Answer filedMay 5, 2022
Hearing held—Decision based on written record.
Decision dateJun 8, 2023

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Unresolved Financial Issues Under Guideline F
Insufficient Evidence of Good Faith Efforts to Repay Debts
Importance of Reliability and Trustworthiness in National Security Contexts

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 that the applicant has 11 delinquent debts totaling about $32,000, which include both consumer accounts and defaulted student loans. Despite some efforts to address these debts through a debt resolution contract, the judge concluded that the applicant did not sufficiently mitigate the financial concerns, resulting in a denial of the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	The SOR alleges 11 delinquent debts totaling about $32,000. $32,000	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.b	The debts consist of four delinquent consumer accounts of about $15,100 and seven defaulted student loans of about $16,900. $15,100	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.c	Applicant has a history of financial problems, including defaulted student loans and delinquent consumer debts. $0	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	(a) inability to satisfy debts (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.