Former USIS Background Investigator Denied Clearance Eligibility

Back in 2014, the US Investigations Services LLC (USIS) was the largest provider of personnel security investigations to the U.S. Government. That was until a whistleblower reported they were improperly submitting investigations to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) without first performing a required review of the cases, a practice known inside USIS as “flushing” or “dumping.” The ensuing Department of Justice investigation resulted in over 30 investigators who have been convicted of falsifying investigative checks.

A recent Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA) case involved a former USIS background investigator who was caught up in the 2014 DOJ investigation. She eventually was terminated in August 2014 due to concerns about the integrity of her work and her failure to follow OPM policies and guidance. In 2016, she applied to a different government contractor for a background investigator position and completed the requisite SF-86. Incredibly, she failed to disclose that she had been suspended and terminated from employment for misconduct in 2014.

During an interview with a background investigator in 2018, she claimed to have been laid off for lack of work and the loss of a government contract, not terminated as indicated in the letter her former company sent her. In her response to DOD CAF interrogatories about her employment and reasons for her termination, she again denied any misconduct despite all of the factual evidence against her. The DOHA judge cited her continued deceit and lack of remorse for her previous conduct in denying her eligibility for a clearance. Thank goodness!