Intent To Deny My Secret Clearance

SECURITY CLEARANCE Q&A
1

On February 09, 2015, I started working for an agency. My position required a secret clearance. On April 17, 2015 I got fired in retaliation for the EEO protected activity and my interim clearance application was not processed. On April 23, 2015, I got a new tentative job offer with another Agency and the position required a secret clearance. On May 2015, I ended up on street due to my inability to pay for my rent. My former agency who started my security clearance background check said that they would never bring me on board till DOD CAF does their adjudication. Between May 2015 and September 2018, I was staying on the street/shelter was not able to find another job except temporary daily labor( minimum wage $8.25/hrs).

On August 2016, security investigation was completed and on April 2018, my job offer was withdrawn as still waiting for adjudication. I was on the street/sometimes slept on shelter due to my inability to find a job and take care of my needs. Since 2015 I have been in debt about my credit card, hospital bills and students loans. As I was still waiting for my clearance adjudication even though my job had been withdrawn, on September 2018, I luckily got a new tentative job offer from a different Agency. The position required a secret clearance.

On November 2018, I was hired by a new Agency and have been lodging in hotels till today due to housing issue around my workplace. The cost of my hotel is between $460 -$500/week and it has not enable me to take care of my outstanding financial responsibilities and on March 01 2019 I got a letter from DOD CAF through the security director of my new job.The subject of the letter " Intent to Deny Eligibility for Access to Classified Information and/or Assignment to Duties that have been Designated National Security Sensitive". The DOD CAF provided a letter and Equifax records stating my creditors’ names and my available 12 debts owing to hospital and credit card industries.

In addition, the total cost of the debts that I owe sent to me by DOD CAF is between 10,000 - 15, 000, and I already made some payments arrangement with about 3 creditors before I received the letter. On February 2018, I met financial counseling to seek advice on how to resolve my debit with my creditors, but I was not successful.

On March 2, 2019, my security director advised me to make payment arrangements with all my creditors, and I contacted them , but some refused to work with at my low affordable rate to get rid of the balance issues. My security provide advised to provide all the necessary information, and documents providing my case that my inability to take responsibility of my debit is not intentional. It’s caused by unemployment circumstances( loss of jobs, being on the street and shelter etc ) beyond my control between May 2015 and October 2018.

  1. Please I want to hear your advice

  2. I want to hear from people who have had such experience and if this situation affected their security clearance.

Please bear with me for my long story.

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When did you fill out the sf86 for your current job?
Did you provide the names of the 12 creditors on the sf86 form and indicate what caused the debt, what you are doing about the debt?
Do you have any evidence, letters to creditors etc. that would show your intent to pay the debt?
Had you considered filing for a chapter 7 bankruptcy prior to your investigation?

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  1. On 2015, I filled out the SF-86 form.

  2. I did not provide the names of my 12 creditors on the SF-86 form,also I didn’t indicate what caused the debts. On February 15, 2019, the DOD CAF went to Equifax and pulled my credit report.

  3. Before February 15, 2019, I made 2 payment arrangements with 2 creditors. Currently I have made arrangements with 11 creditors that agreed to work with me at a lowest affordable monthly payment rate( $15.00-$30/month), but one creditor refused to work with me at my affordable rate. And I don’t know how to go about it.

  4. I have received about 2 evidential letters from 2 creators stated that payment arrangements were made on my debts with their companies. And I am waiting to receive my letters from other creditors that already made payment arrangements with them.

  5. No I had not considered filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy before the investigation started.

Any additional questions are accepted. Thank you for your time and asking.

4

Why did you never consider non-cleared employment? Who advised you to not start work until you were cleared? Were they talking about cleared work? Or, were you actually advised not to take ANY WORK until you were cleared?

Were you already in debt when you filled out your SF86 in 2015? If so, why didn’t you properly list this information at the time?

I’m sorry but based on what you wrote, this is your doing and undoing. You need to get your act together and get your life together. At this point, I don’t see mitigation in your story.

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You should have obtained a copy of your credit report at the time that you filled out the SF86 and listed EACH delinquent account, why it was delinquent, what you are doing about it. By the time they pulled your credit almost two years later you should have taken care of these debts. Your not going to be able to mitigate this.

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6

Let’s get it straight.

1.On April 17, 2015, I got fired from my job in Jacksonville Florida. On April 23, I got a tentative job offer from a federal agency in Arizona.

  1. On May 2015, I ended up on a street/homeless shelter. I stayed on homeless shelter between May 2015 and September 2018 due to my inability to afford a rent. During this period, I was doing a minimum wage temp jobs and struggling to find a better job.

  2. Between July 2015 and December 2015, the OPM investigator twice in public library and I made him aware I had no job after I got fired from my former Agency Jacksonville FL. He asked me questions about my debts and I made him aware that I can’t be able to pay my debts at same time and I promised that I would start making payments on my debts when once I get a job to take care myself .

  3. On August 2016, this investigation initiated by the Arizona Agency was completed and no adjudication is pending. On April 23, 2018, the Arizona Agency withdrew her job as still waiting for the adjudication. During this period I still worked at Temp work( minimum wage $8.25/hr) and was still sleeping in the shelter where I paid $25/month.

  4. Between May 2015 and October 2018, I received free medical services from clinic made by those staying in shelters. During this period I was in shelters,it didn’t even occur to me that I should check my credit report till September 2018 l got my present job offer that I started on November 2018. I made one monthly payment arrangement on December 2018 and one monthly arrangement on January 2019 before February I received the letter from the DOD CAF.

Today I returned my SOR form to DOD CAF office through my security director’s office and accepted to provide responses to them through my security director’s office to explain about my debts or any circumstances that lead to the situation.

I contacted the city clinic where I received from free medical services and city housing center where I pay $25 rent/monthly to send me written documents to provide to DOD CAF office to provide my inability to take care of my debts when I was homeless.

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I got your point. Till I got this job, I was staying in street and later got into a city shelter made for the homeless. I didn’t take care of my debts because I was not able to find a job to would take care of my jobs. I was physically and mentally unstable, I was getting free medical treatments from the city to get my feet. Also at the same time, I was receiving free medical services from the city made for the homeless and the financially disadvantageous. Currently I’m still on
taking my daily free medications received from the city to my chronic physical and emotional conditions that got worse after I ended up on the street.

Hope your questions have been answered. what’s your opinion/judgement on my response to your questions? Thanks

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There is so much going on here that I really do not have an understanding.

I just do not understand what you mean.

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OK . . . I’m not going to dig terribly deep into this one . . . but, are the skills used in the cleared job that you seek not at all applicable to the private world? You’re qualified for government work that will pay your bills but only minimum wage work in the non-cleared environment? I’m trying to understand.

I don’t think that any of us understand what “the Arizona Agency” is or why DODCAF would have any control over what appears to be a state job.

There are also going to be questions when you start to say things like “physically and emotional conditions” . . .

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I know my story is very huge Lol. Anyway that’s why we are here to sort it out. thanks for your kind response and follow up.

I received free physical and emotional condition I was getting free medical treatments from the city due to emotional distress a

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Sorry for my lateness. Yes. I am qualified for the position. The minimum requirement for the position is bachelor’s degree, but I have a degree than bachelor’s degree. But I didn’t work with my college degree from April 2015 until November 2018 due to my inability to find engineering jobs.

During the unemployment period, I work temp labor with a minimum of $8.25/hr. I worked when I felt fine and sometimes when the agencies have a work for us to do. So during my unemployment period, I didn’t afford to rent a house till November 2017 I got a room from a city housing authority where I paid $25.00 /month.

Lest I forget to address. On April 23, 2015 I got a federal job in Arizona that needed security clearance. I was still waiting for completion of security clearance to start the job. But the job was withdrew on April 2018 due to long waiting for the Adjudication to be made. Luckily on November 2018 I got a new job that requires security clearance. My new agency received a letter from DOD CAF stating that I have to show a reason why I owe debt, and if I fail, they will make a decision.

Hope it makes sense now?

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When you are dealing with debt, you have to have mitigating factors. You being homeless helps, but you throw a curve ball when you say you have an engineering degree but can only find a minimum wage job! You throw another flag in the mix that hasn’t been addressed and that is the fact that you have mental and emotional issues. Did you self-report that? There’s only certain circumstances where you don’t have to discuss and you not having a job is one of them. It’s not that you didn’t pay your bills let’s get that clear. It’s the fact that you did absolutely nothing and still haven’t. Your creditors won’t work with you because it’s been so long! 12 accounts in collections is a lot. You really didn’t start working on them until AFTER you were contacted. What’s even more of an issue is had you have just listed them on your form we wouldn’t be discussing this. You HAVE to list it! You will have a hard time. To be frank, personal responsibility is a must! When you are dealing with clearances it’s never the action. It’s the story and what have you done or did? It seems careless to live in a hotel paying $2000 a month when you can get an apartment for cheaper than that! Sounds like excuses.

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You said, “I don’t understand…” He was unable to find a job because he became mentally unstable due to the stress of losing his job. In his orginal post he said there were issues with the EEO at his company… sounds like a disability may have been at play here. I’m in a similar possition at the moment. I haven’t been able to find a job either because my security clearance is in LOJ. I FINALLY found a company that took ownership of my clearance in May and it is just now being adjudicated. I graduated college in 2017 with a B.S. and have submitted gaggles of resumes since I was terminated and haven’t had an offer. I am now forced to apply for positions I am over qualified for. I have applied for state, federal, city and county jobs with no bite. 2017 was my VERY FIRST “real job” in 20 years! So I don’t have “experience” that is required along with the required education to get a job. I’m 50 years old competing with 25 year old’s for entry level positions… I am scared every day and feel like a loser everyday. This isn’t about “lazy” it’s about real life issues. I would give anything for someone to just cut me a break. Even a tiny one.

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Hi, I see it’s been a few years since you last posted. I am in a similar boat however I’m not homeless… yet. I too had an issue with my former employer, filed a complaint with the EEOC and it’s being investigated BUT my clearance is in LOJ. Trying to get it out and just got an Interrogatory letter requesting 20 years of tax account transcript’s with no explanation of why these documents are being sought. I know the Training Manager from where I was separated was able to influence a distorted view of my ability to perform and labeled me a nuisance and a “problem” employee.

I am curious why the EEO was involved and if your issue was anything like mine… I have a learning disability and from the day I disclosed until the day I was “separated” terminated… I had problems with the Training Manager.

Reach out! crystalbernier2011@gmail.com