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ISCR Case 23-00567 — CASE

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ISCR Case 23-00567

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

Case Profile
Decision Date4/18/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Judge: Edward W. Loughran
Government Counsel: William H. Miller
Applicant's Counsel: Ryan C. Nerney
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 46-year-old employee of a defense contractor who sought to retain his security clearance, which he had held since approximately 2008. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons citing security concerns under Guideline I, related to psychological conditions. The core allegations included a history of mental health issues characterized by paranoia, delusions, and hospitalization for psychotic episodes, which the applicant attributed to external factors such as drugging or foreign intelligence targeting.
Key facts established during the proceedings included the applicant's extensive mental health history, which involved multiple hospitalizations and diagnoses, including anxiety disorder, delusional disorder, and paranoid personality disorder. The applicant admitted to experiencing severe paranoia and hallucinations, but he maintained that these symptoms were the result of being targeted by foreign intelligence. He provided various explanations for his condition, including the possibility of being drugged or affected by Havana Syndrome. However, the administrative judge noted skepticism regarding these claims, emphasizing that the applicant's mental health issues appeared to stem from a diagnosable condition rather than external forces.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he did not mitigate the security concerns under Guideline I. The judge expressed serious concerns about the applicant's mental health and the potential for relapse into a delusional state, which could pose risks to his judgment and reliability regarding access to classified information. The decision ultimately denied the applicant's eligibility for a security clearance based on the evidence presented.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline IPsychological Conditions · Against Applicant
Similar decisions
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-00567

deniedApr 18, 2024· Hon. Edward W. Loughran· hearing

Summary

A 46-year-old defense contractor was denied a security clearance under Guideline I, Psychological Conditions, due to unresolved mental health issues. The Statement of Reasons detailed several concerns, including the applicant's self-reported auditory, visual, and olfactory hallucinations. Diagnoses included brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, paranoid personality disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.

In October 2021, the applicant reported to his employer that he was subject to "active measures" by foreign intelligence, including physical surveillance, staged interactions, food poisoning, Wi-Fi hacking, and infiltration of his family and social groups. He also had a history of inpatient mental health treatment. While an evaluating psychologist noted a condition that might impair judgment, stability, reliability, or trustworthiness, it was not definitively established as a disqualifying condition.

Ultimately, the judge determined that the applicant failed to mitigate the security concerns. The history of delusional beliefs and psychotic episodes raised significant doubts about his judgment and reliability. The judge also concluded that the applicant's claims of external causes for his mental health issues were likely rooted in his psychological condition, leading to the denial of access to classified information.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant did not mitigate the security concerns under Guideline I regarding psychological conditions.
The applicant's history of delusional beliefs and psychotic episodes raised doubts about his judgment and reliability.
The judge expressed skepticism about the applicant's claims of external causes for his mental health issues, concluding they were likely rooted in a mental health condition.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 28(a)appliedBehavior That Casts Doubt on Judgment, Stability, Reliability, or Trustworthiness
AG ¶ 28(b)appliedOpinion by a Qualified Mental Health Professional Indicating a Condition That May Impair Judgment
AG ¶ 28(c)appliedInvoluntary Inpatient Hospitalization

Key Rule Quoted

“The protection of the national security is the paramount consideration.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 2, 2023
Answer filedJun 24, 2023
Hearing heldFeb 15, 2024rescheduled at Government's request
Decision dateApr 18, 2024

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Unresolved Psychological Conditions Under Guideline I
Impact of Delusional Disorder on Judgment and Reliability
Importance of Mental Health Evaluations in Security Clearance Determinations

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 I (Psychological Conditions) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant had a history of serious psychological conditions, including brief psychotic disorder and paranoid personality disorder, which raised significant concerns about his judgment and reliability. Despite some mitigating factors, the overall evidence did not sufficiently alleviate the security concerns, leading to a denial of the application.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶28)	Mitigating applied (¶29)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant reported auditory hallucinations of footsteps, voices, and clicking/popping noises; visual hallucinations of people’s faces looking like the Joker; and olfactory hallucinations of smelling 'an Eastern-European perfume, like all the time, everywhere.'	Against Applicant	Psychotic Disorder Diagnosed	Unknown	(a) behavior that casts doubt on judgment/stability/reliability/trustworthiness, not covered under any other guideline, indicating an emotional/mental/per…	—	—
1.b	Applicant was diagnosed with brief psychotic disorder, delusional disorder, paranoid personality disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.	Against Applicant	Psychotic Disorder Diagnosed	Unknown	(a) behavior that casts doubt on judgment/stability/reliability/trustworthiness, not covered under any other guideline, indicating an emotional/mental/per…	—	—
1.c	Applicant reported to his employer in October 2021 that he continued to be subjected to 'active measures' by foreign intelligence, including continuous physical surveillance of his movements; staged interactions with the same people over and over designed to ruin his life; drugging or poisoning his food; hacking the wi-fi at his home; approaching his parents; and infiltrating his bible study class	Against Applicant	Psychotic Disorder Diagnosed	Unknown	(a) behavior that casts doubt on judgment/stability/reliability/trustworthiness, not covered under any other guideline, indicating an emotional/mental/per…	—	—
1.d	Applicant was an inpatient for a mental health condition.	Against Applicant	Psychiatric Hospitalization	Unknown	(a) behavior that casts doubt on judgment/stability/reliability/trustworthiness, not covered under any other guideline, indicating an emotional/mental/per…	—	—
1.e	Applicant's position softened regarding being targeted by malicious actors on U.S. soil.	For Applicant	Unspecified Psychological Condition	Unknown	—	—	—
1.f	The evaluating psychologist determined that Applicant had a condition that may impair judgment, stability, reliability, or trustworthiness, but did not establish AG 28(b) as a disqualifying condition.	For Applicant	DoD Psychologist Adverse Opinion	Unknown	—	—	—

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

Full decision

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