Summary
The applicant, a 47-year-old custodial janitor for a defense contractor, faced security concerns under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline F (Financial Considerations) due to a history of financial difficulties, including a bankruptcy and numerous delinquent accounts. The administrative judge denied the security clearance, finding that the applicant failed to provide sufficient evidence to mitigate the concerns regarding her financial management and personal conduct.
Under Guideline E (Personal Conduct) and Guideline F (Financial Considerations), the Statement of Reasons alleged the following: Applicant answered "no" to questions regarding debts turned over to collection agencies and accounts charged off, despite having several such accounts (2.b). a payday loan with an unpaid balance of $265 that became a judgment in 2009 (1.c). a cellular telephone account with a past-due balance of $1,763 (1.d). a medical account with a past-due balance of $295 (1.e). a medical account with a past-due balance of $295 (1.f). a bank credit card with a past-due balance of $427 that was charged off (1.g). a medical account with an unpaid balance of $58 (1.h). a self-storage company account with a past-due balance of $166 (1.i). a credit card account with a past-due balance of $799 that was charged off in 2008 (1.j). a bank overdraft with a past-due balance of $726 (1.k). an unspecified bank account with an unpaid balance of $300 that was charged off and transferred or sold to a debt purchaser who increased the past-due balance to $491 (1.l). a regular unsecured loan with a high credit of $1,500 that was charged off and transferred or sold to a debt purchaser who purportedly increased the unpaid amount to $1,932 (1.m). an automobile loan with a high credit of $11,522 that was charged off, the car was repossessed, and the account was transferred or sold to a debt purchaser (1.n). a bank credit card with an unpaid balance of $300 that was sold to a debt purchaser (1.o).
The judge denied the clearance. The government raised disqualifying conditions F.19.a, F.19.c, F.19.g. The judge applied mitigating conditions F.20.a, F.20.b, F.20.c, F.20.d, F.20.e. The decision turned on the following: The applicant admitted to all allegations related to financial considerations, demonstrating a long history of financial mismanagement; The applicant failed to provide documentation to support claims of resolving delinquent accounts or to demonstrate financial stability; The applicant's responses on the e-QIP regarding her financial history were found to be incorrect, raising concerns about her honesty and reliability.
Why the Applicant Was Denied
- The applicant admitted to all allegations related to financial considerations, demonstrating a long history of financial mismanagement.
- The applicant failed to provide documentation to support claims of resolving delinquent accounts or to demonstrate financial stability.
- The applicant's responses on the e-QIP regarding her financial history were found to be incorrect, raising concerns about her honesty and reliability.
Conditions Referenced
- F.19.araisedInability or Unwillingness to Satisfy Debts
- F.19.craisedHistory of Not Meeting Financial Obligations
- F.19.graisedFailure to File Annual Federal, State, or Local Income Tax Returns as Required
- F.20.arejectedBehavior Happened so Long Ago, Was so Infrequent, or Occurred Under Such Circumstances That It Is Unlikely to RecurThe applicant's financial issues were ongoing and not infrequent.
- F.20.brejectedConditions That Resulted in the Financial Problem Were Largely Beyond the Person's ControlThe applicant did not demonstrate that her financial issues were beyond her control.
- F.20.crejectedReceived or Is Receiving Counseling for the Problem And/or There Are Clear Indications That the Problem Is Being Resolved or Is Under ControlThe applicant did not provide evidence of financial counseling or resolution of her debts.
- F.20.drejectedInitiated a Good-faith Effort to Repay Overdue Creditors or Otherwise Resolve DebtsThe applicant failed to provide evidence of good-faith efforts to resolve her debts.
- F.20.erejectedReasonable Basis to Dispute the Legitimacy of the Past-due DebtThe applicant did not substantiate her claims of disputing debts.
Key Rule Quoted
“"Failure or inability to live within one’s means, satisfy debts, and meet financial obligations may indicate poor self-control, lack of judgment, or unwillingness to abide by rules and regulations, all of which can raise questions about an individual’s reliability, trustworthiness and ability to protect classified information."”
Procedural Posture
- SOR issuedJun 27, 2015
- Answer filedAug 5, 2015
- Hearing heldNov 17, 2015
- Decision dateApr 21, 2016
Cite For
- Denial of Security Clearance Due to Ongoing Financial Mismanagement
- Impact of Personal Conduct on Security Clearance Eligibility
- Failure to Provide Evidence of Financial Stability as a Basis for Denial