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ISCR Case 17-02524.h1 — CASE

ISCR Case 17-02524.h1granted

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 17-02524.h1

grantedAug 28, 2018· Hon. Marc E. Curry· hearing

Summary

This case concerns a 28-year-old single mother, employed as a secretary for a defense contractor, whose security clearance was initially questioned under Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The Statement of Reasons cited approximately $32,000 in delinquent debts, including a student loan she is satisfying through a payment plan. These issues raised disqualifying conditions under Adjudicative Guidelines (AG) ¶ 19(a) and AG ¶ 19(c).

To address these concerns, the applicant successfully sued her ex-boyfriend for child support, obtaining a $23,000 judgment in April 2018. She utilized this judgment to pay off most of her delinquent debts. Furthermore, she engaged a credit counselor to manage her finances, demonstrating a commitment to preventing future financial issues.

The judge determined that the applicant had effectively mitigated the security concerns by resolving her significant debts and implementing a plan for financial stability. Consequently, mitigating conditions AG ¶ 20(b), AG ¶ 20(c), and AG ¶ 20(e) were applied, and her security clearance was GRANTED.

Why the Applicant Prevailed

Applicant successfully paid off most of her delinquent debts using a judgment from her ex-boyfriend.
She has retained a credit counselor to manage her finances and prevent future issues.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)raisedFinancial Considerations - Delinquent Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)raisedFinancial Considerations - Inability to Satisfy Debts

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20(b)appliedFinancial Considerations - the Conditions That Resulted in the Financial Problem Were Largely Beyond the Person's Control
AG ¶ 20(c)appliedFinancial Considerations - the Person Has Received Counseling for the Financial Problem
AG ¶ 20(e)appliedFinancial Considerations - the Person Has Initiated a Good-faith Effort to Repay Overdue Creditors or Otherwise Resolve Debts

Key Rule Quoted

“The person has initiated a good-faith effort to repay overdue creditors or otherwise resolve debts.”

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedSep 26, 2017
Answer filedOct 17, 2017
Hearing heldJul 10, 2018
Decision dateAug 28, 2018Summary disposition granted.

Cite For

Mitigating Conditions Under Guideline F for Financial Considerations
Good-faith Efforts to Resolve Debts
Impact of Personal Circumstances on Financial Issues

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 had incurred approximately $32,000 in delinquencies due to financial difficulties stemming from personal circumstances, including the lack of child support. However, the applicant has made significant progress in addressing her debts, including satisfying a $23,000 judgment and maintaining a payment plan for a student loan, leading to a decision to grant her security clearance.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	incurring approximately $32,000 in delinquencies $32,000	For Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts	(b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly	Documented Financial Counseling
1.b	sued him, successfully obtaining a $23,000 judgment in April 2018 $23,000	For Applicant	Judgment Against Applicant	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts	(b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly	Documented Debt Paid in Full
1.i	a student loan that she is satisfying through a payment plan	For Applicant	Student Loan Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts	(b) conditions largely beyond the person’s control; acted responsibly	Documented Payment Plan with Creditor

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

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

In the matter of: ) ) ) ISCR Case No. 17-02524 ) Applicant for Security Clearance )

Appearances

For Government: Tovah Minster, Esq., Department Counsel For Applicant: Pro se

08/28/2018 ______________

Decision

______________

Curry, Marc E., Administrative Judge:

On September 26, 2017 the Department of Defense Consolidated Adjudications Facility (DOD CAF) issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to Applicant, alleging several delinquent debts and explaining why they generate security concerns under Guideline F, financial considerations. The DOD CAF took the action 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 National Security Adjudicative Guidelines (AG) effective for any adjudication made on or after June 8, 2017.

Applicant answered the SOR on October 17, 2017, admitting all of the allegations and requesting a hearing. The case was assigned to me on May 10, 2018. On June 5, 2018, the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals issued a notice of hearing, scheduling Applicant’s case for July 10, 2018. The hearing was held as scheduled. I considered Applicant’s testimony, and I received five Government exhibits (GE 1 – GE 5), and 18 Applicant exhibits (AE A-AE R).

I received the transcript on July 19, 2018. On August 16, 2018, after reviewing the transcript and the exhibits, I notified Department Counsel of my intention to issue a summary disposition, granting Applicant’s security clearance. On August 21, 2018, Department Counsel informed me that she had no objection.

Applicant is a 28-year-old single woman with one child, age eight. Since 2015, she has been working for a defense contractor as a secretary. She had her child shortly after finishing high school. The child’s father failed to pay child support. Unable to complete college and with no quality employment prospects, Applicant struggled to make ends meet, working menial jobs while raising her child. Consequently, she fell behind on her debts, incurring approximately $32,000 in delinquencies, and triggering the application of AG ¶ 19(a) and AG ¶ 19(c).

Applicant has been gradually paying her delinquent debts since gaining the secretarial job in 2015. After years of attempting to persuade her ex-boyfriend to pay child support, she sued him, successfully obtaining a $23,000 judgment in April 2018. Her ex- boyfriend paid the judgment, as ordered. (AE F) Using this money, Applicant satisfied all of the debts in their entirety, except subparagraph 1.i, a student loan that she is satisfying through a payment plan. She has retained a credit counselor to help manage her finances and ensure that her financial problems do not recur.

I conclude that the mitigating conditions set forth in AG ¶¶ 20(b), 20(c), and 20(e) apply. Applicant has mitigated the security concern.

_____________________ Marc E. Curry Administrative Judge