Paranoia and False Allegations of Cyberstalking Sinks Clearance Applicant

A defense contractor was denied security clearance eligibility by the Department of War due to security concerns regarding behavior linked to his emotional and mental state affecting his judgement, reliability and trustworthiness. He subsequently appealed the denial to the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals. Here are highlights of his case.

The applicant held Top Secret/SCI access eligibility while serving in the military and worked as a defense contractor since 2010.  At some point he started having episodes of paranoia and anxiety, claiming co-workers were harassing and cyberstalking him. He also claimed someone was impersonating him on social media and intentionally tried to set him up as the “fall guy” for a “honeypot” scam. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI) investigated his claims and found no merit to any of them.

The applicant was terminated from multiple jobs due to his erratic behavior, complaints against co-workers, and his false cyberstalking claims. The AF OSI had denied his request for SCI access reinstatement after they had investigated the reasons he was terminated from a previous position. Three years later, he sought another position that required SCI access, and after reviewing his previous security file and updated SF-86, he was again denied eligibility. It was determined that he had falsified the reasons for his leaving previous jobs.

The judge in the case noted that the psychiatric report included in the appeal indicated a high probability of similar behavior in the future. It was also noted that he deliberately withheld information about being fired from multiple jobs and lacked credibility in his testimony about why. The psychological and personal conduct security concerns were not mitigated – appeal denied.