Charged for same reported Incident

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
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I have a pretty crazy story and I need some advice from security managers and/or former adjudicators.

I’ve had a TS/SCI clearance since 2008 with a clean record. Until about 3 years ago I made a very dumb decision during a divorce and accessed my ex-partners iCloud account from my unclassified work computer. I was working at a three-letter agency and was walked out. They never told me why. Never got an SOR.

7 months later I got another job but my SCI would never adjudicate because I had a “SCI adjudication suspended pending SMO response” flag in my clearance. I was let go from that job too, after 19 months because of that. I still had no idea what was going on. Until I found out what the incident was when the FBI knocked on my door to ask questions about the iCloud access.

I then got a TJO for a GS position with the Navy. They of course saw the SMO flag and the LOJ in DISS and asked me what happened. I fully disclosed the iCloud incident to the Navy Security Manager. This was the first time I actually had an opportunity to report what the incident was. A few months later DCSA sent me an SIR to fill out a new SF-86. I did, reported the incident, and lo and behold, within 10 days DCSA regranted my TS/SCI eligibility, and the Navy promptly gave me an FJO. Finally, after 3 years of limbo! My wife and I literally cried.

So, all good right???

Oh no no no.

2 months after the FJO the FBI/DOJ calls and they are talking about charging me with unauthorized access. For the EXACT SAME incident that DCSA already vetted and mitigated. I also received my PCS orders while all this is going on with the DOJ. I have some time before I have to report because the position is OCONUS.

My attorneys met with the prosecutor and he is not declining. And the best we can hope for is MAYBE Pretrial Diversion which is 12 months and it has to be done here. Either way they said my Navy assignment is not happening.

I have not been arrested, nor charged, but I plan on telling the Navy Security Manager as soon as I get a an official answer.

So my questions are:

Is my clearance probably gone?

Does a misdemeanor kill my career?

How does PTD work with a clearance?

Considering this potential charge is the legal resolution from the same incident I already reported, what are my odds of keeping my clearance?

I have seen instances of a person keeping their clearance even with a felony as long as they were honest and reported it. I plan on being 100% honest and reporting this the instant I am charged or plead to anything.

This has been a very stressful 3 year nightmare for my family and I. I thought it was over when DCSA granted me eligibility again, but I was wrong. I know my GS position is most likely gone, but surviving this and keeping my career is top priority

Any advice would be very helpful.

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Unfortunately the day they came I was scared as I have never faced anything like that before. I thought being honest was the way to go, and now I wish I would have done things differently. When DCSA mitigated the incident and cleared me, I thought for sure we were done with this. But that was not the case. This has been over 3 years of fighting this battle, and just when we thought it was over, it’s not. Thanks for your response, I appreciate it. My lawyers are trying to get it reduced, but the Feds seem to have dug their heels in on this for whatever reason. I guess federal resources, manpower, and money are worth pursuing to try to throw a disabled combat vet with no prior record in prison over an iCloud login, and ruin his career. We’ll see how it plays out. Thanks again.

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Sorry dude. That sucks. How did the agency even know to monitor your use on your unclass cpu for entering into that cloud acct? They would have had to be looking.

I have been dealing with a denial for issues that were already LONG ago adjudicated favorable. Many adjudicators are either incompetent or just working in bad faith. They can simply just move on to next candidate because they have a large pool. Your issue is much more serious than mine but it has still not been resolved and i frankly don’t think it will be. But mine are on the SC side. The adjudicators at DCSA are more lenient and the DOHA judges are very fair. I wish mine was on that side of the house rather than the IC agencies.

Regarding your case, i think you are fighting an uphill battle that is probably not going to turn out favorably. They gov’t takes the illegal use of it’s equipment very seriously and you are already on record admitting it and you have a legal case ongoing. Either-way, you won’t be able to move forward until that is resolved and even if it’s resolved positively, you will still be hardpressed explain that. Also, remember that you are not only dealing with an administrative clearance issue now , you are on the criminal side now too. A clearance lawyer can’t really help you with that unless they are versed on those issues and are certified in that field Unfortunately, the gov’t doesn’t work efficiently or care that you were already adjudicated positively. In my case after i have been adjudicated favorable for my issues by the same agency, they sent me back home from overseas which cost them a huge amount of money from a very sensitive contract. Some of my already adjudicated info was from an ex gf that made false allegations which i defeated in civil court and gave the records proving i won my case. Mind you these allegations and proof i won were already well over 10 yrs old when they came back to bite me again. That’s why i say these ppl don’t really work in good faith. It leaves a bad taste in your mouth and makes you want to leave the industry. Atleast in your case you will probably get to go before a DOHA judge to fight your case. They are real professionals. The IC agencies process is not.

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Just to clarify, accessing someone else’s Icloud account is actually a very serious offense. It’s a felony and considered hacking and fraud under federal law. That is why the FBI is involved. Tack onto that that it was done on a gov’t owned computer system and it makes it even more serious. I think another issue involved here is that the Gov’t was clearly monitoring him to catch him doing this. There is noway they would have picked this up if they were not monitoring him. This is gonna be a serious uphill climb to keep clearance.

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They asked about the login. I told them did it, no need to lie since they have the records. And that was what they are talking about charging me with. Literally just the unauthorized access. Everything was about that and the victim. Why I did it, what was the reasoning, what led to it, etc.

So believe it or not…all this is over that login.

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My intent was literally curiosity. That’s it. I told them “just to see if I could”. Almost like a puzzle to me.

And here’s the kicker….the account was basically empty. It wasn’t being used. No photos, notes, nothing. I literally clicked around and logged out. Downloaded nothing. They have already admitted to this. Logs say the same thing. But do whatever reason they won’t let it go. And you are probably right, they see it as an easy win.

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Yes it is a felony. And unauthorized access is obviously illegal. Which I know that. Which is also why I already disclosed it and got it mitigated. However, the legal side continues. And the fraud part is if you use that login to commit other crimes downstream, ie open a bank account in their name or harass them or something like that. Which is not the case here. I did speak to a clearance attorney who was surprised by all this. He said that he doesn’t see how at a DOHA hearing how the government could take away a clearance for the same exact reason that was already disclosed and vetted. That’s just on attorney’s opinion, but that is what he said.

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I agree with your attorney that it shouldn’t happen, but i can tell you from personal experience that it does.

Here is the most pertinent question. How did the agency know to monitor your unclass CPU for nefarious activity? There is noway they caught this just “incidentally”. They had to know what to look for as they would have noway of knowing that you weren’t allowed to log in to that acct. What did you do prior to this that put you on their radar?

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I think finding alternative uncleared work for the next 7-10 years may be your best bet. Maybe after no issues for 7-10 years give it another try.