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ISCR Case 23-01203 — CASE

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ISCR Case 23-01203

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

Case Profile
Decision Date10/8/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Robert Robinson Gales
Government Counsel: Tara R. Karoian
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 32-year-old marine engineer employed by a defense contractor, who sought a security clearance after applying on June 18, 2021. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline F (Financial Considerations), primarily alleging the applicant's failure to file federal and state income tax returns for the tax year 2020. The SOR indicated that the applicant's financial issues raised questions about his reliability and trustworthiness.
In his response to the SOR, the applicant admitted to the allegations regarding his failure to file tax returns but provided limited explanations, attributing the delays to "laziness" and difficulties in locating necessary documents during a move. Despite being given multiple opportunities to submit evidence confirming the filing of his tax returns, he did not provide any verifiable documentation to demonstrate compliance with tax obligations. The administrative judge noted that the applicant's admissions and lack of mitigating evidence supported the government's concerns.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he failed to mitigate the security concerns related to his financial situation. The judge emphasized that the applicant's ongoing failure to resolve his tax issues, despite numerous opportunities to do so, indicated a lack of responsibility and reliability, ultimately leading to the denial of his eligibility for a security clearance.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 23-01203

deniedOct 8, 2024· Hon. Robert Robinson Gales· hearing

Summary

A 32-year-old marine engineer was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to his failure to file federal and state income tax returns for the 2020 tax year. The Statement of Reasons specifically alleged that the applicant failed to file and failed to timely file these returns.

The administrative judge found that the applicant admitted to not filing his 2020 taxes, attributing this omission to laziness. Crucially, despite multiple opportunities, the applicant did not provide any evidence that he had subsequently filed these outstanding returns.

Ultimately, the applicant failed to mitigate the security concerns related to his financial considerations. His unresolved tax issues and lack of action to rectify them raised significant questions about his reliability and judgment, leading to the denial of his security clearance.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal and state income tax returns for 2020, which was a significant factor in the denial.
The applicant admitted to laziness as the reason for not filing taxes and did not provide evidence of having filed them despite multiple opportunities to do so.
The applicant's failure to resolve his tax issues raised substantial questions about his reliability and judgment.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

“Failure to file tax returns suggests that an applicant has a problem with complying with well-established governmental rules and systems.”
— ISCR Case No. 01-05340 at 3 (App. Bd. Dec. 20, 2002)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedOct 25, 2023
Answer filedJan 27, 2023
Hearing held—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Decision dateOct 8, 2024

Cite For

Failure to File Tax Returns as a Disqualifying Condition Under Guideline F
Lack of Evidence to Mitigate Financial Concerns
Judgment and Reliability Issues Related to Financial Obligations

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 failed to file his federal and state income tax returns for the tax year 2020, which raised significant financial concerns under Guideline F. The applicant admitted to the allegations but did not provide sufficient evidence to mitigate the concerns, resulting in a decision against him.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file his federal and state income tax returns for the tax year 2020.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	—
1.b	Applicant failed to timely file federal and state income tax returns for the tax year 2020.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	(f) failure to file / fraudulent filing of tax returns or unpaid tax	—	—

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.