PSH-21-0103 - In the Matter of Personnel Security Hearing

On October 22, 2021, an Administrative Judge (AJ) determined that the Individual's access authorization under 10 C.F.R. Part 710 should not be granted. A background investigation revealed that the Individual's failed to file her federal and state tax returns for tax years 2017, 2016, and 2015, had significant outstanding federal and state tax debts, and had an unpaid collection account.

The AJ found that the Individual had experienced several financial hardships including several periods of unemployment. However, the AJ further found that these difficult circumstances did not excuse the Individual from her obligation to file her income tax returns, or to have entered into agreements with the IRS and state tax authorities to address her outstanding obligations. While the Individual had started to address her tax and financial issues by hiring a tax attorney, filing her state tax returns, and entering payment plans with the state and her collection account creditor serious security concerns about the Individual remained. The Individual had repeatedly claimed that she filed her federal tax returns for 2015, yet was repeatedly unable or unwilling to provide documentation of this assertion. The Individual claimed that she had filed her federal tax return for 2015 and that she was in possession of a copy of that tax return, yet even when she was given an opportunity to provide a copy of that document in the days following the hearing, she did not do so. Moreover, the Individual, during her hearing testimony, repeatedly provided testimony that was inconsistent with other information she had provided. Further, she did not exhibit the familiarity with her finances and tax status that one would expect of a person in her circumstances. Most importantly, the Individual had not shown that she had filed her federal tax returns for 2015, 2016, and 2017, or that she had agreed to a settlement or repayment plan for her outstanding debt of $23,190 owed to the IRS. Accordingly, the AJ found that given the Individual's past failure or unwillingness to provide accurate information to the LSO or OHA, her stated intention to resolve her tax issues at some unknown point in the future was insufficient to resolve the security concerns raised by her failure to file her federal tax returns and pay her federal taxes.

The Administrative Judge therefore concluded that the Individual's access authorization should not be granted. (Steven L. Fine).