Summary
A 46-year-old defense contractor employee was denied a security clearance under Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to significant delinquent debts. The applicant had at least 22 delinquent accounts, totaling over $12,000, which included charged-off debts, accounts submitted for collection, and judgments. Additionally, two outstanding garnishment orders totaling $4,669.08 had been entered against her. One specific debt, a 1988 credit card account, had accumulated over $1,500 in additional charges. The applicant admitted liability for all these accounts.
During a period of unemployment from August 2005 to May 2006, while attending college full-time, the applicant received over $60,000 in student loans, with one $26,774 loan currently deferred. She has three children, ages 22, 20, and 14, and has never been married. While she stated she was working with a credit counselor to settle her debts and acknowledged it would take time to resolve them, she provided no information about efforts to support her children and their father within her financial means.
Ultimately, the judge found insufficient evidence of the applicant's efforts to resolve her debts, including a lack of information regarding payments or a clear resolution plan. Consequently, the mitigating conditions were deemed inapplicable, leading to the denial of her security clearance.
Why the Applicant Was Denied
- Applicant has numerous delinquent debts totaling over $12,000, including charged-off accounts and judgments.
- She provided no evidence of payments made on her debts or a clear plan to resolve them.
- The judge found that the mitigating conditions did not apply to her situation.
Conditions Referenced
- DC 19(a)raisedInability or Unwillingness to Satisfy Debts
- DC 19(c)raisedA History of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
- MC 20(a)rejectedThe Behavior Occurred Under Such Circumstances That It Is Unlikely to RecurThe judge found no evidence that the circumstances leading to the debts were unlikely to recur.
- MC 20(b)rejectedConditions That Resulted in the Financial Problem Were Largely Beyond the Person's ControlThe applicant's financial issues were not shown to be beyond her control.
- MC 20(c)rejectedThe Person Has Received or Is Receiving Counseling for the ProblemThe applicant did not provide sufficient evidence of effective counseling or resolution of her debts.
Key Rule Quoted
“The objective of the security-clearance process is the fair-minded, commonsense assessment of a person’s trustworthiness and fitness for access to classified information.”
Procedural Posture
- SOR issuedFeb 4, 2009
- Answer filedFeb 17, 2009Undated response, notarized.
- Hearing held—Applicant requested a decision based on the written record.
- Decision dateJun 11, 2009
Cite For
- Failure to Mitigate Financial Considerations Under Guideline F
- Insufficient Evidence of Debt Resolution Efforts
- Rejection of Mitigating Conditions Due to Lack of Supporting Evidence