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ISCR Case 24-00368 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 24-00368

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

Case Profile
Decision Date2/10/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Richard A. Cefola
Government Counsel: Andrew H. Henderson
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 31-year-old employee of a defense contractor who sought a security clearance. The Department of Defense issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing concerns under Guidelines F (Financial Considerations), H (Drug Involvement and Substance Misuse), G (Alcohol Consumption), and E (Personal Conduct). The core allegations included significant past-due debts, a history of illegal drug use, and excessive alcohol consumption.
The applicant admitted to all allegations in the SOR, including approximately $19,482 in past-due debts and a decade-long history of drug use involving marijuana and cocaine. He acknowledged spending substantial amounts on these substances and admitted to excessive alcohol consumption, including a prior DUI arrest. While he claimed to be making payments towards his debts, he provided no supporting documentation. The applicant's drug use ended in July 2022, but he continued to engage in substance misuse even after being terminated from a previous job due to a positive drug test.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant on all counts, concluding that the applicant's financial issues were ongoing and that he had not demonstrated a commitment to resolving them. The judge found that the applicant's recent drug involvement and substance misuse raised significant concerns about his reliability and trustworthiness. The judge determined that none of the mitigating conditions applied, leading to a denial of the security clearance based on the potential risk to national security.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
- Guideline GAlcohol Consumption · Against Applicant
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-00368

deniedFeb 10, 2025· Hon. Richard A. Cefola· hearing

Summary

A 31-year-old defense contractor employee was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guidelines E (Personal Conduct), F (Financial Considerations), G (Alcohol Consumption), and H (Drug Involvement). The applicant admitted to significant financial difficulties, including a past-due debt of approximately $15,993 to Creditor A from a vehicle repossession, another debt of about $1,969 to Creditor A, and a debt of approximately $1,520 to Creditor C. No documentation was provided to support claims of debt repayment.

The applicant also admitted to a history of substance misuse. This included using and purchasing marijuana from 2011 to 2021, and using and purchasing cocaine from 2018 to 2022. In September 2018, he tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine. Additionally, the applicant admitted to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking up to twelve beers and ten shots of whiskey on weekends, and was arrested in December 2021 for Operating a Vehicle while Under the Influence of an Intoxicant.

The administrative judge concluded that the applicant's admitted conduct, encompassing financial difficulties and substance misuse, raised security concerns under multiple guidelines. Consequently, granting a security clearance was deemed inconsistent with national interest, and the application was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant admitted to significant financial difficulties and a history of substance misuse.
He provided no documentation to support claims of repayment of debts.
The judge found that the applicant's conduct raised security concerns under multiple guidelines.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 20raisedFinancial Considerations
AG ¶ 25raisedDrug Involvement
AG ¶ 22raisedAlcohol Consumption
AG ¶ 23raisedPersonal Conduct

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 23, 2024
Answer filedJun 10, 2024
Hearing heldDec 4, 2024
Decision dateFeb 10, 2025

Cite For

Denial of Security Clearance Due to Financial Difficulties Under Guideline F
Denial Based on Drug Involvement Under Guideline H
Impact of Personal Conduct on Security Clearance Eligibility Under Guideline E

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 against the applicant on the personal conduct concerns, specifically noting the applicant's financial difficulties, drug abuse problems, and excessive alcohol consumption. The applicant failed to mitigate these concerns, leading to a denial of the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
4.a	Applicant has financial difficulties, drug abuse problems, and drinks alcohol excessively.	Against Applicant	Questionable Judgment General	—	Unknown	—	—	—

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline F · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on all financial allegations under Guideline F, citing significant past-due debts totaling approximately $19,482. The applicant's financial difficulties were attributed to past drug involvement, which the judge determined did not mitigate the security concerns raised by the debts.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant admits to a past-due debt to Creditor A, as the result of a motor vehicle repossession, in the amount of about $15,993. $15,993	Against Applicant	Auto Loan Debt	Admitted	—	—	—
1.b	Applicant admits to another past-due debt to Creditor A in the amount of about $1,969. $1,969	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—
1.c	Applicant admits to past-due debt to Creditor C in the amount of about $1,520. $1,520	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	—	—	—

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline G (Alcohol Consumption) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant's alcohol consumption was excessive, admitting to drinking as much as twelve beers and ten shots of whiskey on weekends. Additionally, the applicant was arrested for Operating a Vehicle while Under the Influence of an Intoxicant in December 2021. The judge ruled against the applicant on both allegations under Guideline G, leading to a denial of the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Incident	Response	Disqualifying (¶22)	Mitigating applied (¶23)	Mitigation
3.a	Applicant admits to consuming alcohol excessively, on weekends, drinking as much as twelve beers and ten shots of whiskey.	Against Applicant	Binge or Intoxication Pattern	Admitted	—	—	—
3.b	In December of 2021, Applicant was arrested for Operating a Vehicle while Under the Influence of an Intoxicant.	Against Applicant	DUI or DWI Alcohol	Denied	—	—	—

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

Standardized Decision Profile

SEAD-4 Guideline H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: HearingDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on all allegations related to drug involvement, noting the applicant's admissions of marijuana and cocaine use over several years. The applicant's drug use was deemed recent and continued even after a positive drug test, which contributed to his termination from employment. As a result, the applicant was denied a security clearance due to unresolved drug involvement concerns.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
2.a	Applicant admits that he used and purchased marijuana during a ten-year period from 2011~2021.	Against Applicant	Marijuana	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
2.b	Applicant admits that he used and purchased cocaine during a four-year period from 2018~2022.	Against Applicant	Cocaine	Regular	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—
2.c	Applicant admits in September of 2018, he tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine.	Against Applicant	Drug Test Failure	Not Applicable	Admitted	(a) any substance misuse (c) illegal possession, cultivation, manufacture, purchase, sale, or distribution; or paraphernalia	—	—

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

Full decision

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