Summary
A 34-year-old fitness attendant was denied a security clearance due to concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline F (Financial Considerations). The Statement of Reasons included allegations of deliberate omission or falsification of facts on a security questionnaire, as well as multiple delinquent student loan debts. Specifically, the applicant had charged-off student loan debts exceeding $99,000 owed to a collection agency, additional student loan debts over $22,000 placed for collection by the Department of Education, and other past-due student loan debts totaling more than $3,000.
While the applicant successfully mitigated the personal conduct concerns by demonstrating no intent to falsify information, the financial concerns remained unresolved. The applicant failed to provide any evidence of efforts to address his significant delinquent debts, which totaled over $125,000.
Consequently, the security clearance was denied. The decision was based on the applicant's substantial, unresolved financial delinquencies and the lack of demonstrated effort to resolve them.
Why the Applicant Prevailed
- The applicant demonstrated no intent to falsify information on his security clearance application.
Conditions Referenced
- AG ¶ 19(a)raisedInability to Satisfy Debts
- AG ¶ 19(b)raisedUnwillingness to Satisfy Debts Regardless of the Ability to Do So
- AG ¶ 19(c)raisedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
- AG ¶ 20(a)rejectedBehavior Happened so Long Ago, Was so Infrequent, or Occurred Under Such Circumstances That It Is Unlikely to RecurThe applicant's financial issues are ongoing and have not been resolved.
- AG ¶ 20(b)rejectedConditions That Resulted in the Financial Problem Were Largely Beyond the Person’s ControlThe applicant did not demonstrate responsible actions to address his debts.
- AG ¶ 20(c)rejectedReceived or Is Receiving Financial CounselingThe applicant provided no evidence of financial counseling.
- AG ¶ 20(d)rejectedInitiated and Is Adhering to a Good-faith Effort to Repay Overdue CreditorsThe applicant has not made any arrangements to resolve his debts.
Key Rule Quoted
“The protection of the national security is the paramount consideration.”
Procedural Posture
- SOR issuedApr 9, 2016
- Answer filed—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
- Hearing held—No hearing; decided on written record.
- Decision dateOct 16, 2017
Cite For
- Failure to Mitigate Financial Considerations Under Guideline F
- No Intent to Falsify Information Under Guideline E
- Importance of Demonstrating Efforts to Resolve Financial Delinquencies