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ISCR Case 24-00773 — CASE

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ISCR Case 24-00773

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

Case Profile
Decision Date7/11/2025
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Darlene Lokey Anderson
Government Counsel: Erin P. Thompson
Case Summary
The applicant in this case was a 37-year-old Aircraft Maintenance Technician employed by a defense contractor, seeking a security clearance. The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) citing security concerns under Guideline F, Financial Considerations, due to the applicant's failure to file Federal income tax returns for the years 2015 through 2022. The allegations raised questions about her reliability and trustworthiness.
The applicant admitted to not filing her tax returns and explained that her lack of knowledge about filing jointly with her husband, along with financial difficulties following a layoff, contributed to her inaction. She claimed to have filed her tax returns for the years 2017 through 2024 and was awaiting processing by the IRS. However, she did not provide evidence for the status of her returns for 2015 and 2016, and the administrative judge found her explanations insufficient to mitigate the concerns raised.
The administrative judge ruled against the applicant, concluding that her repeated failure to meet her tax obligations demonstrated a pattern of irresponsibility and poor judgment. The judge determined that the applicant had not met the burden of proof to establish mitigation of the security concerns, ultimately denying her eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
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Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-00773

deniedJul 11, 2025· Hon. Darlene Lokey Anderson· hearing

Summary

A 37-year-old Aircraft Maintenance Technician was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to a consistent failure to file federal income tax returns. The Statement of Reasons specifically alleged that the applicant did not file returns for eight consecutive tax years, from 2015 through 2022.

The judge determined that this prolonged pattern of non-compliance demonstrated poor judgment and a lack of reliability, which are disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guideline Paragraph 19(f). Although the applicant admitted to the allegations and cited personal difficulties, these explanations were not deemed sufficient to mitigate the long-standing irresponsibility regarding tax obligations.

Ultimately, the applicant failed to provide evidence of having filed the outstanding tax returns or otherwise demonstrating compliance with these financial responsibilities. Consequently, the security clearance was denied.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to file federal income tax returns for eight consecutive years, reflecting poor self-control and lack of judgment.
The applicant's claims of personal difficulties did not sufficiently mitigate the long pattern of irresponsibility regarding tax obligations.
The applicant did not provide evidence of having filed tax returns for all years in question, nor did she demonstrate compliance with tax obligations.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(f)raisedFailure 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

“A person who seeks access to classified information enters into a fiduciary relationship with the government predicated upon trust and confidence.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedMay 31, 2024
Answer filedAug 15, 2024
Hearing held—Applicant requested a decision on the written record.
Decision dateJul 11, 2025

Cite For

Denial Based on Failure to File Taxes Under Guideline F
Impact of Financial Irresponsibility on Security Clearance Eligibility
Importance of Demonstrating Reliability and Good Judgment for Access to Classified Information

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 against the applicant regarding the failure to file Federal income tax returns for multiple years, concluding that the applicant's inaction reflected a pattern of unreliability and poor judgment. Despite the applicant's claims of intending to hire a tax professional and having filed some returns, the judge determined that the applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to mitigate the security concerns raised.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant failed to file Federal income tax returns for tax years 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Admitted	—	—	Claimed Other

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.