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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
DEFENSE OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS 
           
             
 
 
In the matter of: ) 
 ) 
 REDACTED   )  ISCR Case No. 15-01764 
 ) 
Applicant for Security Clearance ) 
 
 
Appearances 
 
For Government: Daniel F. Crowley, Esq., Department Counsel 
For Applicant: Pro se 
 
 
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Decision 
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MENDEZ, Francisco, Administrative Judge: 
 
On September 21, 2015, the Department of Defense (DOD) Consolidated 
Adjudications Facility (CAF) sent Applicant a Statement of Reasons (SOR) alleging that 
his circumstances raised security concerns under the financial considerations 
guideline.1 Applicant answered the SOR and requested a hearing to establish his 
eligibility for access to classified information. 
 
 On August 25, 2016, a date mutually agreed to by the parties, a hearing was 
held. After receipt of the transcript and the record closed, I provided written notice to the 
parties of my intent to resolve the case through a summary disposition in Applicant’s 
favor. Department Counsel indicated that the Government did not object to my 
proposed resolution of the matter in this fashion. See Appellate Exhibit I. 
 
 Applicant mitigated security concerns raised by his past financial problems. He 
incurred delinquent debt while going to graduate school in State A, and also attempting 
                                                          
1 This action was taken under Executive Order (E.O.) 10865, Safeguarding Classified Information within 
Industry (February 20, 1960), as amended; Department of Defense Directive 5220.6, Defense Industrial 
Personnel Security Clearance Review Program (January 2, 1992), as amended (Directive); and the 
Adjudicative Guidelines (AG) implemented by the Department of Defense on September 1, 2006. 
 
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to pay his former spouse’s expenses while she was residing in State B. His ex-wife 
made unauthorized credit purchases using his information after they were legally 
separated. His financial situation was also negatively impacted by a long period of 
unemployment and underemployment after attaining his master’s degree.  
 
Applicant presented sufficient evidence, including an ample amount of 
documentation substantiating his testimony that he addressed, paid, settled, or is 
currently paying his past-due debts (or, a reasonable basis upon which to dispute the 
accuracy of the debt). Additionally, he has been repaying his student loans on a 
consistent monthly basis for the past four years. He is now remarried and his current 
spouse is gainfully employed. Applicant and his wife earn a combined yearly income 
exceeding $140,000, and he is in line for a job promotion that will earn him an additional 
$10,000 to $15,000. As a first-time new father, Applicant has taken fiscally prudent 
steps to manage his finances going forward, including trading in his former car for a 
used, four-door sedan that is fully paid. After a thorough review of the record evidence, I 
find that the mitigating conditions listed at AG ¶¶ 20(a) – 20(e) apply.  
 
The security concerns over Applicant’s past financial problems do not create 
doubt about his current reliability, trustworthiness, good judgment, and ability to protect 
classified information. In reaching this conclusion, I weighed the evidence as a whole 
and considered if the favorable evidence outweighed the unfavorable evidence or vice 
versa. I also gave due consideration to the whole-person concept. Accordingly, I 
conclude that Applicant met his burden of persuasion to show that it is clearly consistent 
with the national interest to grant him eligibility for access to classified information. 
Applicant’s request for a security clearance is granted. 
 
 
 
____________________ 
Francisco Mendez 
Administrative Judge