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ISCR Case 22-01660 — CASE

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ISCR Case 22-01660

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

Case Profile
Decision Date3/27/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Carol G. Ricciardello
Government Counsel: Jenny G. Bayer
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 31-year-old individual employed by a federal contractor since February 2020. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline E, personal conduct, primarily alleging that the applicant had deliberately falsified material facts in his security clearance applications and during interviews regarding his past illegal drug use, specifically marijuana. The applicant initially denied any illegal drug use in his applications but later admitted to using marijuana occasionally in the past.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to the allegations in the SOR, explaining that he had not disclosed his marijuana use due to fear of losing his job and a misunderstanding of the legal status of marijuana in different states. He acknowledged that he had used marijuana recreationally and had been arrested for possession in 2019, but claimed that the marijuana found in his vehicle did not belong to him. The administrative judge found that the applicant's admissions indicated a deliberate falsification of material facts in his applications and interviews, despite his explanations and attempts at mitigation.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he failed to mitigate the security concerns under Guideline E. The judge emphasized the importance of honesty in the security clearance process and determined that the applicant's actions raised significant doubts about his reliability and trustworthiness, ultimately denying his eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 22-01660

deniedMar 27, 2024· Hon. Carol G. Ricciardello· hearing

Summary

A 31-year-old federal contractor was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The denial stemmed from the applicant's deliberate falsification of information regarding past marijuana use on multiple security clearance applications and during interviews with a government investigator.

Specifically, the applicant failed to disclose recreational marijuana use from 2010 to 2019 on his April 2021 and March 2022 Security Clearance Applications (SCAs). Furthermore, during a May 2021 interview, he falsely stated that he had never used illegal drugs. These actions raised disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines paragraphs 16(a) and 16(b).

The denial was based on the finding that the applicant deliberately falsified material facts, and his explanations for these omissions were deemed not credible. This conduct raised serious concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness, leading to the denial of eligibility for access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant deliberately falsified material facts in security clearance applications and interviews regarding marijuana use.
The applicant's explanations for his omissions were not credible, as he had a duty to disclose his drug use.
The applicant's conduct raised serious concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 16(a)appliedDeliberate Omission, Concealment, or Falsification of Relevant Facts
AG ¶ 16(b)appliedDeliberately Providing False or Misleading Information

Key Rule Quoted

“Conduct involving questionable judgment, lack of candor, dishonesty, or unwillingness to comply with rules and regulations can raise questions about an individual's reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information.”
— AG ¶ 15

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedNov 10, 2022
Answer filedJan 14, 2023
Hearing heldMar 11, 2024via Microsoft Teams
Decision dateMar 27, 2024

Cite For

Deliberate Falsification of Information Under Guideline E
Impact of Personal Conduct on Security Clearance Eligibility
Credibility of Applicant's Explanations Regarding Drug Use

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 E (Personal Conduct) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant deliberately falsified material facts regarding his past drug use in both his security clearance applications and during an interview with a government investigator. As a result, the applicant's eligibility for a security clearance was denied.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant deliberately falsified material facts in his April 2021 and March 2022 SCAs by failing to disclose his past drug use.	Against Applicant	Falsification Security FormFOUND DELIBERATE	Drug Involvement	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant deliberately falsified material facts during his May 2021 interview with a government investigator when he stated that he had never used illegal drugs when in fact he used marijuana recreationally from 2010 to 2019.	Against Applicant	Lack of Candor in InterviewFOUND DELIBERATE	Drug Involvement	Admitted	—	—	—

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

Full decision

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