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ISCR Case 17-01657.h1 — CASE

ISCR Case 17-01657.h1granted

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 17-01657.h1

grantedMay 16, 2018· Hon. Edward W. Loughran· hearing

Summary

A pro se applicant was granted a security clearance despite initial concerns under Guideline F (Financial Considerations). These concerns arose from financial difficulties attributed to periods of unemployment, a divorce, an ex-wife's failure to pay marital debt, and the applicant's sole custody of two children without child support.

However, the applicant successfully mitigated these issues. Before the Statement of Reasons (SOR) was issued, he had already paid several debts. Subsequently, he paid, settled, or otherwise resolved most of the remaining debts alleged in the SOR.

Crucially, the applicant established and took significant action to implement a credible plan for resolving his financial problems. The judge ultimately found that the applicant's current reliability and trustworthiness were not in doubt, leading to the favorable decision.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

Applicant resolved most debts alleged in the SOR.
He established a credible plan to address his financial issues.
The judge found that the applicant's current reliability and trustworthiness were not in doubt.

Conditions Referenced

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20(a)appliedThe Behavior Was Not Recent.
AG ¶ 20(b)appliedThe Conditions That Resulted in the Financial Problems Were Beyond the Applicant's Control.
AG ¶ 20(d)appliedThe Applicant Has Taken Significant Steps to Reduce or Eliminate Financial Problems.

Key Rule Quoted

“I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedJul 11, 2017
Answer filedJul 26, 2017
Hearing heldJan 31, 2018
Decision dateMay 14, 2018Proposed summary disposition in favor of applicant.

Cite For

Mitigation of Financial Issues Under Guideline F
Whole-person Concept in Security Clearance Decisions
Significant Steps Taken to Resolve Financial Problems

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: granted

The judge found that the applicant's financial issues were primarily due to unemployment, divorce, and lack of child support. The applicant took significant steps to resolve his debts, leading to a conclusion that the financial concerns were mitigated, resulting in a decision to grant the security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	Applicant's financial problems were caused by periods of unemployment, his divorce, his ex-wife’s failure to pay her share of the marital debt, and his custody of his two children without the benefit of child support from his ex-wife.	For Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur (b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly (d) good-faith effort to repay or otherwise resolve debts	—
1.b	He paid several debts before the SOR was issued.	For Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur (b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly (d) good-faith effort to repay or otherwise resolve debts	—
1.c	He paid, settled, or otherwise resolved most of the debts alleged in the SOR.	For Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur (b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly (d) good-faith effort to repay or otherwise resolve debts	—
1.d	He established a plan to resolve his financial problems, and he took significant action to implement that plan.	For Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Unknown	—	(a) behavior happened long ago / infrequent / unlikely to recur (b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly (d) good-faith effort to repay or otherwise resolve debts	—

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.

Decision text, by section

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

In the matter of: ) ) ) ISCR Case No. 17-01657 ) Applicant for Security Clearance )

For Government: Jeff A. Nagel, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: Pro se

05/16/2018 ______________

DECISION

______________

LOUGHRAN, Edward W., Administrative Judge:

On July 11, 2017, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to Applicant detailing security concerns under Guideline F, financial considerations.1 Applicant responded to the SOR on July 26, 2017, and requested a hearing before an administrative judge. The case was assigned to me on November 9, 2017. The hearing was held as scheduled on January 31, 2018. On May 14, 2018, I proposed to the parties that this case was appropriate for a summary disposition in Applicant’s favor. Department Counsel did not object.

Applicant's financial problems were caused by periods of unemployment, his divorce, his ex-wife’s failure to pay her share of the marital debt, and his custody of his two children without the benefit of child support from his ex-wife. He paid several debts before the SOR was issued. He paid, settled, or otherwise resolved most of the debts alleged in the SOR. He established a plan to resolve his financial problems, and he took significant action to implement that plan. He credibly testified that he will resolve any remaining delinquent debts. Based on the record evidence as a whole, I conclude that the security concerns are mitigated under the following mitigating conditions: AG ¶¶ 20(a), 20(b), and 20(d).

The concerns over Applicant’s history of financial problems do not create doubt about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect classified information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole and considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence. I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I conclude that he met his ultimate burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent with the national interest to grant him eligibility for access to classified information. This case is decided for Applicant.

________________________ Edward W. Loughran Administrative Judge

FOOTNOTES

1 This case is adjudicated under Executive Order (EO) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; DOD Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the adjudicative guidelines, which became effective on June 8, 2017.