CASE · Clearance Adjudication Search EngineCASE

Loading case…

ISCR Case 24-01772 — CASE

Case record

ISCR Case 24-01772

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

Case Profile
Decision Date1/15/2026
Statusdenied
LevelHEARING
TypeSTANDARD ISCR
Participants
Applicant Representation: Pro Se
Judge: Eric H. Borgstrom
Government Counsel: Brittany C. M. White
Case Summary
Applicant, a 55-year-old individual, sought a security clearance but faced allegations under multiple adjudicative guidelines, specifically Guideline H (drug involvement and substance misuse), Guideline E (personal conduct), and Guideline F (financial considerations). The Statement of Reasons (SOR) issued by the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) highlighted concerns regarding his past marijuana use, failure to file tax returns, and child support arrears.
In his response to the SOR, Applicant admitted to using marijuana between June 2021 and November 2022 but denied any intent to falsify information on his security clearance questionnaire. He acknowledged his financial issues, including unfiled tax returns for 2015 and approximately $17,300 in child support arrears, but did not provide corroborating evidence for his claims of compliance with obligations or efforts to rectify his tax situation. The administrative judge noted that while Applicant mitigated the drug involvement concerns by demonstrating a cessation of use, he did not sufficiently address the personal conduct and financial considerations issues.
Ultimately, the administrative judge ruled against granting the security clearance, citing the lack of evidence to mitigate the personal conduct and financial concerns. The judge emphasized the importance of reliability and trustworthiness in national security positions, concluding that Applicant's history of drug use and financial irresponsibility raised significant doubts about his eligibility for access to classified information.
Guidelines Evaluated
- Guideline EPersonal Conduct · Against Applicant
- Guideline FFinancial Considerations · Against Applicant
- Guideline HDrug Involvement & Substance Misuse · For Applicant
Similar decisions
Other decisions whose allegations read most like this one. Descriptive similarity of the allegations only — not a prediction.
Finding similar decisions…

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 24-01772

deniedJan 15, 2026· Hon. Eric H. Borgstrom· hearing

Summary

A 55-year-old male applicant was denied a security clearance due to unmitigated concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline F (Financial Considerations). While concerns under Guideline H (Drug Involvement) were mitigated, the applicant failed to resolve issues related to his financial obligations and personal conduct.

Specifically, the applicant did not file his federal income tax return for tax year 2015 and owed approximately $27,000 in child support arrears. Additionally, a significant concern arose from the applicant's deliberate falsification of information regarding his drug use on his security clearance questionnaire.

The decision cited disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines Paragraphs 16(a), 19(a), 19(c), and 19(f). Although mitigating conditions under Paragraph 26(a) were applied for drug involvement, they were insufficient to overcome the unaddressed personal conduct and financial concerns, resulting in the denial of the security clearance.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

The applicant mitigated drug involvement and substance misuse concerns due to the passage of time without recent drug use.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 16(a)appliedPersonal Conduct - Deliberate Omission, Concealment, or Falsification of Relevant Facts
AG ¶ 19(a)appliedFinancial Considerations - Inability to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)appliedFinancial Considerations - History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
AG ¶ 19(f)appliedFinancial Considerations - Failure to File or Fraudulently Filing Annual Income Tax Returns

Mitigating

AG ¶ 26(a)appliedDrug Involvement - Behavior Happened so Long Ago, Was so Infrequent, or Happened Under Such Circumstances That It Is Unlikely to Recur

Key Rule Quoted

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

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedNov 26, 2024
Answer filedJan 13, 2025
Hearing held—Decision based on written record.
Decision dateJan 15, 2026

Cite For

Mitigation of Drug Involvement Under Guideline H Due to Time Elapsed Without Use
Disqualifying Conditions Related to Personal Conduct and Financial Obligations Under Guidelines E and F
Importance of Corroborating Evidence in Financial and Personal Conduct Claims

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: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on the personal conduct concerns under Guideline E, concluding that he did not mitigate the security concerns. The applicant's admissions and explanations were insufficient to alleviate the judge's concerns regarding his personal conduct.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Conduct	Concealed Issue	Response	Disqualifying (¶16)	Mitigating applied (¶17)	Mitigation
2.a	He did not mitigate the personal conduct security concerns.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Personal Conduct	—	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: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found against the applicant on financial considerations under Guideline F, specifically regarding unfiled tax returns and child support arrears. The applicant failed to mitigate the financial concerns raised, leading to a denial of his security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
3.a	He did not mitigate the financial considerations security concerns.	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	—	—
3.b	He failed to file his Federal income tax return for tax year 2015.	Against Applicant	Tax Filing Failure	Denied	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	Claimed Other

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 H (Drug Involvement) · descriptive summary of a decided case

Posture: Decision on RecordDecided: denied

The judge found that the applicant mitigated the drug involvement and substance misuse security concerns. However, the overall decision was denied due to unresolved personal conduct and financial considerations issues. The applicant's use of marijuana was acknowledged, but the judge concluded that it was not consistent with national security to grant a security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Substance / event	Use level	Response	Disqualifying (¶25)	Mitigating applied (¶26)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant mitigated the drug involvement and substance misuse security concerns.	For Applicant	MarijuanaWHILE CLEARED	Regular	Admitted	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur	—

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.