ISCR Case 13-01059.h1

Case Headnote

ISCR Case No. 13-01059.h1

deniedMay 15, 2014· Hon. Robert Robinson Gales· hearing

Summary

A 34-year-old defense contractor employee was denied eligibility for a public trust position due to financial considerations under Guideline F. The applicant admitted to multiple delinquencies totaling approximately $26,590, which began in 2007. These included several bank credit cards, a department store account, a cable television account, an apartment lease, and a Department of Veterans Affairs disbursement for college expenses that required repayment upon withdrawal.

Specific allegations detailed that the applicant had not made efforts to approach creditors or establish repayment plans for any of these outstanding debts, citing insufficient funds. For example, one bank credit card had an unpaid balance of $6,767 when charged off in January 2008, and another had a past-due balance of $991. An apartment lease resulted in an unpaid balance of $6,152 after being placed for collection in 2007.

The judge found that the applicant failed to demonstrate responsible action regarding his debts. The denial was based on the applicant's lack of evidence for resolving delinquencies, the ongoing nature of his financial issues without sufficient mitigation by circumstances beyond his control, and the absence of a good-faith effort to repay creditors or establish repayment plans.

Why the Applicant Was Denied

The applicant failed to provide evidence of any efforts to resolve his financial delinquencies.
The applicant's financial issues were ongoing and not sufficiently mitigated by circumstances beyond his control.
The applicant did not demonstrate a good-faith effort to repay overdue creditors or establish repayment plans.

Conditions Referenced

Disqualifying

AG ¶ 19(a)raisedInability or Unwillingness to Satisfy Debts
AG ¶ 19(c)raisedHistory of Not Meeting Financial Obligations

Mitigating

AG ¶ 20(b)rejectedConditions Largely Beyond the Person's ControlThe applicant failed to explain why his financial difficulties were beyond his control.
AG ¶ 20(a)rejectedBehavior Occurred so Long Ago or InfrequentlyThe applicant's financial difficulties were ongoing and recent.
AG ¶ 20(c)rejectedEvidence of Financial CounselingThere was no evidence that the applicant received financial counseling.
AG ¶ 20(d)rejectedGood-faith Effort to Repay DebtsThe applicant did not initiate any repayment plans or demonstrate good-faith efforts.

Key Rule Quoted

“A person who seeks access to sensitive information enters into a fiduciary relationship with the Government predicated upon trust and confidence.”
— Department of the Navy v. Egan, 484 U.S. 518, 528 (1988)

Procedural Posture

SOR issuedNov 6, 2013
Answer filedNov 18, 2013
Hearing held—Applicant elected to have the case decided on the written record.
Decision dateMay 15, 2014

Cite For

Failure to Mitigate Financial Considerations Under Guideline F
Impact of Ongoing Financial Delinquencies on Trustworthiness
Requirements for Demonstrating Good-faith Efforts in Debt Resolution

Editorial summary generated for research. Not legal advice; not a prediction. Verify against the full decision before relying on any quoted language.

¶	Allegation	Finding	Type	Response	Disqualifying (¶19)	Mitigating applied (¶20)	Mitigation
1.a	There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $5,500 and unpaid balance of $6,767 that was past due in the amount of $1,718 when the unpaid balance was charged off in January 2008. Applicant used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $6,767	Against Applicant	Credit Card Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.b	There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $500 and a past-due and unpaid balance of $991 that was closed by the creditor, placed for collection, and charged off. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $991	Against Applicant	Credit Card Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.c	There was a disbursement of $6,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs which was to be used by Applicant to pay college tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses under Applicant’s GI Bill benefits. When Applicant withdrew from college, the funds not used by him for the declared purposes were to be refunded. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $6,000	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.d	There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $1,300 and high credit of $1,763 that was closed, placed for collection, and sold to a bad debt purchaser. The debt purchaser increased the unpaid balance to $2,447. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $2,447	Against Applicant	Credit Card Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.e	There is an apartment lease that Applicant broke when he moved from his apartment leaving an unpaid balance of $6,023 that was placed for collection in 2007. The unpaid balance was subsequently increased to $6,152. Applicant has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $6,152	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.f	There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $3,000 and high credit of $3,906 that was over 120 days past due that was closed by the creditor, placed for collection, and transferred in 2008. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $3,906	Against Applicant	Credit Card Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.g	There is a department store account with a credit limit of $590 and high credit of $891 that was closed, placed for collection, and sold to a bad debt purchaser claiming to be a factoring company. The debt purchaser increased the unpaid balance to $1,141. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $1,141	Against Applicant	Unspecified Financial	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—
1.h	There is a cable television account with an unpaid balance of $92 that was placed for collection in 2007. Applicant claimed he was unaware of the outstanding balance as he had never received a final bill following his move across country. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved. $92	Against Applicant	Utility or Phone Debt	Admitted	(a) inability to satisfy debts (c) a history of not meeting financial obligations	—	—

Allegation

Finding

Type

Response

Disqualifying (¶19)

Mitigating applied (¶20)

Mitigation

1.a

There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $5,500 and unpaid balance of $6,767 that was past due in the amount of $1,718 when the unpaid balance was charged off in January 2008. Applicant used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$6,767

Against Applicant

Credit Card Debt

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.b

There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $500 and a past-due and unpaid balance of $991 that was closed by the creditor, placed for collection, and charged off. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$991

Against Applicant

Credit Card Debt

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.c

There was a disbursement of $6,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs which was to be used by Applicant to pay college tuition, books, supplies, and living expenses under Applicant’s GI Bill benefits. When Applicant withdrew from college, the funds not used by him for the declared purposes were to be refunded. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$6,000

Against Applicant

Unspecified Financial

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.d

There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $1,300 and high credit of $1,763 that was closed, placed for collection, and sold to a bad debt purchaser. The debt purchaser increased the unpaid balance to $2,447. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$2,447

Against Applicant

Credit Card Debt

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.e

There is an apartment lease that Applicant broke when he moved from his apartment leaving an unpaid balance of $6,023 that was placed for collection in 2007. The unpaid balance was subsequently increased to $6,152. Applicant has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$6,152

Against Applicant

Unspecified Financial

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.f

There is a bank credit card with a credit limit of $3,000 and high credit of $3,906 that was over 120 days past due that was closed by the creditor, placed for collection, and transferred in 2008. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$3,906

Against Applicant

Credit Card Debt

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.g

There is a department store account with a credit limit of $590 and high credit of $891 that was closed, placed for collection, and sold to a bad debt purchaser claiming to be a factoring company. The debt purchaser increased the unpaid balance to $1,141. Applicant also used this credit card to pay for his moving and living expenses. He has not made any effort to approach the new creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$1,141

Against Applicant

Unspecified Financial

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

1.h

There is a cable television account with an unpaid balance of $92 that was placed for collection in 2007. Applicant claimed he was unaware of the outstanding balance as he had never received a final bill following his move across country. He has not made any effort to approach the creditor to establish a repayment plan because he does not have sufficient funds to start making payments. The account has not been resolved.

$92

Against Applicant

Utility or Phone Debt

Admitted

(a) inability to satisfy debts

(c) a history of not meeting financial obligations

—

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Case Profile

Summary

Why the Applicant Was Denied

Conditions Referenced

Key Rule Quoted

Procedural Posture

Cite For

Full decision

DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS

HEARING

APPEARANCES

STATEMENT OF CASE

FINDINGS OF FACT

POLICIES

ANALYSIS

WHOLE PERSON CONCEPT

FORMAL FINDINGS

CONCLUSION

FOOTNOTES