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ISCR Case 22-01365 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 22-01365

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

Case Profile
Decision Date8/26/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Nichole L. Noel
Government Counsel: Cassie L. Ford
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 50-year-old engineer employed by a federal contracting company since January 2016. He contested the Department of Defense's (DOD) decision to deny his security clearance based on financial considerations, specifically citing delinquent debts totaling $45,350. The Statement of Reasons (SOR) outlined concerns regarding his inability to meet financial obligations, which were attributed to a decrease in income during the Covid-19 pandemic and personal circumstances related to his wife's immigration status.
During the hearing, the applicant admitted to incurring delinquent debt but argued that it was due to circumstances beyond his control. He provided some documentation of his income and claimed to have engaged a credit repair company to assist with his financial issues. However, he did not present sufficient evidence of good-faith efforts to repay his debts or a concrete plan for addressing them. The administrative judge found that while the applicant's financial difficulties were understandable, he had not demonstrated responsible actions to resolve his debts since his financial situation had stabilized.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that granting a security clearance was not clearly consistent with national interest. The judge emphasized that the applicant failed to provide evidence of efforts to repay his creditors or a plan for managing his financial obligations, 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. 22-01365

deniedAug 26, 2024· Hon. Nichole L. Noel· hearing

Summary

A 50-year-old engineer with a prior security clearance was denied a new clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The denial stemmed from delinquent debts totaling $45,350, primarily incurred during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Statement of Reasons alleged that the applicant incurred these debts due to pandemic-related financial difficulties. Disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guideline paragraphs 19(a) and 19(c) were raised.

Ultimately, the clearance was denied because the applicant did not demonstrate sufficient good-faith efforts to repay his delinquent debts. He failed to provide a concrete plan for addressing these accounts, and the debts remained unpaid even after his income increased and finances stabilized.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant did not demonstrate sufficient efforts to repay his delinquent debts.
He failed to provide a plan for handling his delinquent accounts.
The debts remained unpaid despite an increase in income and stabilization of finances.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)raisedInability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)raisedHistory of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Key Rule Quoted

“Security clearance adjudications are not debt collection proceedings. Rather the purpose of the adjudication is to make an examination of a sufficient period of a person’s life to make an affirmative determination that the person is an acceptable security risk.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedAug 16, 2022
Answer filed—
Hearing heldFeb 6, 2024
Decision dateAug 26, 2024

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Financial Irresponsibility Under Guideline F
Failure to Demonstrate Good-faith Efforts to Repay Debts
Consideration of the Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Adjudications

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 that the applicant incurred a total of $45,350 in delinquent debt primarily due to financial difficulties related to the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite some efforts to settle debts, the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of good-faith efforts to repay, leading to a decision against the applicant on the financial considerations.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant incurred delinquent debt due to financial difficulties related to the Covid-19 pandemic. $45,350	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.