KEYWORD: Financial
DIGEST: Applicant  has approximately $30,000.00 in unsecured debt that has been past-due for
many years. There is little to no chance she will be in a position to address this debt anytime soon.
Clearance is denied.
CASENO: 06-18073.h1
DATE: 01/31/2007
DATE: January 31, 2007
In Re:
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SSN: ----------- 
Applicant for Security Clearance
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ISCR Case No. 06-18073
DECISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE JUDGE
JOSEPH TESTAN
APPEARANCES
FOR GOVERNMENT
Jennifer I. Goldstein, Department Counsel
FOR APPLICANT
Pro Se
SYNOPSIS
Applicant  has approximately $30,000.00 in unsecured debt that has been past-due for many
years. There is little to no chance she will be in a position to address this debt anytime soon.
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Clearance is denied.
 
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
On August 30, 2006, the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA), pursuant to
Executive Order 10865 and Department of Defense Directive 5220.6 (Directive), dated January 2,
1992, issued a Statement of Reasons (SOR) to applicant which detailed reasons why DOHA could
not make the preliminary affirmative finding under the Directive that it is clearly consistent with the
national interest to grant or continue a security clearance for applicant and recommended referral to
an Administrative Judge to determine whether clearance should be denied or revoked.
Applicant responded to the SOR in writing. The case was assigned to the undersigned on
November 14, 2006. A Notice of Hearing was issued on November 27, 2006, and the hearing was
held on December 28, 2006. The transcript was received on January 10, 2007.
FINDINGS OF FACT
Applicant is 49 years of age. She has been employed by the same defense contractor since
April 2005.
SOR Allegation 1a: In 2003, applicant had a car repossessed because of an unpaid balance
of more than $10,000.00.
SOR Allegation 1b: As of August 2005, applicant was delinquent on a Capital One credit
card account in the approximate amount of $500.00.
SOR Allegation 1c: As of August 2005, applicant was delinquent on a Citibank Visa credit
card account in the approximate amount of $3,800.00.
SOR Allegation 1d: As of August 2005, applicant was delinquent on an Emerge Providian
credit card debt in the approximate amount of $500.00.
SOR Allegation 1e: On March 1, 2006, applicant provided DoD with a Personal Financial
Statement which showed a monthly deficit of $383.91.
SOR Allegation 1f:  In her response to the SOR, applicant denied this allegation. At the
hearing she testified she denied it because the debt arose from a credit card that was in her husband’s
name (TR at 15-16).
SOR Allegation 1g: Applicant is indebted to MBNA America in the approximate amount
of $3,000.00. This debt went delinquent and was charged off.
SOR Allegation 1h: Applicant is indebted to NCO Financial in the approximate amount of
$7,125.00. This account went delinquent and was referred for collection.
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SOR Allegation 1i: Applicant is indebted to this creditor in the past-due amount of at least
$2,000.00 (TR at 23-25).
SOR Allegation 1j: Applicant was indebted to American General Financial Services in the
approximate amount of $2,446.00. This debt was secured by applicant’s truck, which has since been
turned over to the creditor. It is unclear at this time if applicant’s truck was sufficient to cover the
debt.
SOR Allegation 1k: As of July 2006, applicant and her husband had unpaid dental and
medical bills totaling approximately $13,000.00.
Applicant testified that her financial problems began in the summer of 2002 when she and
her husband both experienced severe medical problems. First, it was discovered that her husband had
a blockage in his carotid artery and needed surgery to correct the problem. While he was in intensive
care recovering from the surgery, applicant suffered a severe heart attack, which resulted in her
undergoing heart bypass surgery three days later.
Although applicant and her husband eventually returned to work, they were never able to earn
enough money to repay their past-due debts. There were two main reasons for this. First, because her
husband worked in the construction business, his paychecks were never reliable. Second, in March
2004, applicant decided to accept what she thought would be a better position in a different city.  The
position never worked out, and applicant went through at least two periods of unemployment before
she started working at her present job in April 2005.
As if they had not gone through enough, at the beginning of this year, applicant’s husband
underwent back surgery. The surgery did not go well, and he has been disabled and unable to work
since then.
For the past four months, applicant and her husband have been living with two of their
friends. The friends have allowed them to live rent free, and have paid for all food and utilities.
Applicant and the friends have agreed that applicant and her husband should be able to move out by
June 2007. Because she needs to save up enough money to be able to rent an apartment, applicant
has not made any payments on any of the past-due debts even though she has saved approximately
$1,500.00 since living with the friends.  She has not contacted any of the creditors listed in the SOR
because she is not in a position to do anything about her debts and doesn’t want to make promises
she can’t keep. She testified credibly that she intends to satisfy these past-due debts when she is able
to do so. She is hoping that her husband will be able to go back to work, or at least start collecting
disability benefits, in the near future.
CONCLUSIONS
The evidence establishes that (1) applicant has been experiencing significant financial
difficulties since 2002, (2) she is still indebted to numerous creditors for past-due debts in the
approximate total amount of $30,000.00,  and (3) there is little to no chance she will be in a position
to satisfy these past-due debts anytime soon. Disqualifying Conditions E2.A6.1.2.1 (a history of not
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meeting financial obligations) and E2.A6.1.2.3 (inability or unwillingness to satisfy debts) are
applicable.
Applicant offered overwhelming evidence that her financial problems were caused by
medical problems that were obviously beyond her control. Mitigating Condition E2.A6.1.3.3 (the
conditions that resulted in the behavior were largely beyond the person’s control, e.g., loss of
employment, a business downturn, unexpected medical emergency, or a death, divorce or
separation) is therefore applicable.
At the present time, applicant is clearly experiencing significant financial difficulties.
Although these financial difficulties were clearly caused by factors beyond her control, the fact
remains her present situation fits squarely within the Financial Guideline Concern expressed in the
Directive (E2.A6.1.1.1 - An individual who is financially overextended is at risk of having to engage
in illegal acts to generate funds.). Because there is little to no chance these financial problems will
be resolved anytime soon, I have no choice but to conclude it is not now clearly consistent with the
national interest for applicant to have access to classified information.
FORMAL FINDINGS
PARAGRAPH 1: AGAINST THE APPLICANT
DECISION
In light of all the circumstances presented by the record in this case, it is not clearly consistent
with the national interest to grant or continue a security clearance for applicant.
Joseph Testan
Administrative Judge