A decided public DOHA case, shown for research, not advice or a prediction.
ISCR Case No. 17-02524.h1
GrantedDecided Aug 28, 2018 · Administrative Judge Marc E. Curry · Hearing
Case headnote
Summary
The applicant, a 28-year-old single mother employed as a secretary for a defense contractor, faced security concerns under Guideline F due to approximately $32,000 in delinquent debts. After successfully suing her ex-boyfriend for child support and using the judgment to pay off her debts, she retained a credit counselor to manage her finances. The judge found that the applicant had mitigated the security concerns and granted her security clearance.
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) Financial Considerations - Delinquent debtsraised
- AG ¶ 19(c) Financial Considerations - Inability to satisfy debtsraised
Mitigating
- AG ¶ 20(b) Financial Considerations - The conditions that resulted in the financial problem were largely beyond the person's controlapplied
- AG ¶ 20(c) Financial Considerations - The person has received counseling for the financial problemapplied
- AG ¶ 20(e) Financial Considerations - The person has initiated a good-faith effort to repay overdue creditors or otherwise resolve debtsapplied
Key rule quoted
“The person has initiated a good-faith effort to repay overdue creditors or otherwise resolve debts.”
Procedural posture
- SOR issued
- 09/26/2017
- Answer filed
- 10/17/2017
- Hearing held
- 07/10/2018
- Decision date
- 08/28/2018 Summary 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.
From the decision
Facts this decision states, each with the sentence it comes from. Descriptive of the record, not an assessment.
- Applicant Age
- 28
- Years in Industry
- 3
- Delinquent Usd
- 32000
- Payment Plan
- yes
- Bankruptcy
- none
Allegations under Guideline F
Reading the 3 per allegation rows needs a free account.
3 rows in this decision.
It opens the per allegation record on every guideline: the amounts, the findings, and the sentence behind each row.
Descriptive standardized rendering of a decided public case. The verbatim source decision is below.
Full decision
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Decision text, by section
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