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ISCR Case 23-01866 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 23-01866

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

Case Profile
Decision Date6/7/2024
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Roger C. Wesley
Government Counsel: Cynthia Ruckno
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 36-year-old employee of a defense contractor seeking a security clearance. The adjudicative guidelines at issue were related to financial considerations, specifically concerning the applicant's failure to file federal income tax returns for multiple years, significant tax debts, and numerous delinquent consumer and student loan debts. The Statement of Reasons outlined that the applicant had not resolved these financial issues, which raised concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness.
During the proceedings, the applicant admitted to failing to file his tax returns for 2017, 2018, and 2020, attributing this to a lack of personal responsibility. He acknowledged his tax debts, which included approximately $7,016 for 2021 and $11,365 for 2018, and admitted to accumulating over $26,000 in consumer debts and more than $61,000 in student loan debts. While he claimed to have payment plans in place for some debts, he did not demonstrate voluntary efforts to address the majority of his financial obligations.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that he did not mitigate the financial concerns raised. The judge noted that the applicant's financial issues indicated a lack of judgment and self-control, which could compromise his ability to protect classified information. The ruling emphasized that the applicant's financial distress, coupled with his failure to take proactive steps to resolve his debts, posed a significant risk to national security, 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. 23-01866

deniedJun 7, 2024· Hon. Roger C. Wesley· hearing

Summary

A 36-year-old defense contractor employee was denied a security clearance under Guideline F, Financial Considerations, due to unresolved financial issues. The Statement of Reasons detailed several allegations, including the applicant's failure to file federal income tax returns for 2017, 2018, and 2020. Additionally, the applicant was indebted to the Federal Government for delinquent taxes totaling approximately $7,016 for 2021 and $11,365 for 2018.

Further financial concerns included nine delinquent consumer debts exceeding $26,000 and twelve delinquent student loan debts exceeding $61,000. These issues collectively raised disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines paragraphs 19(a), 19(c), and 19(f).

The denial was based on the applicant's failure to file tax returns for multiple years and significant delinquent debts, which included over $18,000 in federal taxes and over $61,000 in student loans. The judge concluded that the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to mitigate these concerns and did not demonstrate good faith efforts to resolve the financial issues prior to the Statement of Reasons, thus determining that granting clearance was not consistent with national interest.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal income tax returns for the years 2017, 2018, and 2020.
The applicant has significant delinquent debts, including over $18,000 in federal taxes owed and over $61,000 in student loan debts.
The applicant did not demonstrate good faith efforts to resolve his financial issues prior to the issuance of the SOR.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

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

“Eligibility for access to classified information may only be granted "upon a finding that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to do so."”
— Exec. Or. 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry § 2 (Feb. 20, 1960)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedSep 8, 2023
Answer filedOct 6, 2023
Hearing heldApr 17, 2024
Decision dateJun 7, 2024

Cite For

Failure to File Tax Returns as a Disqualifying Condition Under Guideline F
Significant Delinquent Debts Impacting Security Clearance Eligibility
Lack of Good Faith Efforts to Resolve Financial Issues as a Basis for Denial

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 multiple financial concerns under Guideline F, including failure to file tax returns and significant delinquent debts. The applicant's claims of payment plans and statute of limitations were not sufficient to mitigate the financial issues, leading to a decision against the applicant.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	failed to file his federal income tax returns, for tax years 2017, 2018, and 2020	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	is indebted to the Federal Government for delinquent taxes in the approximate amount of $7,016 for tax year 2021 $7,016	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Denied	—	—	—
1.c	is indebted to the Federal Government for delinquent taxes in the approximate amount of $11,365 for tax year 2018 $11,365	Against Applicant	Tax Unpaid	Denied	—	—	—
1.d	accumulated nine delinquent consumer debts exceeding $26,000 $26,000	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Denied	—	—	—
1.e	accrued 12 delinquent student loan debts exceeding $61,000 $61,000	Against Applicant	Student Loan Debt	Denied	—	—	—

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.