When filling out the Questionnaire for National Security Positions (SF-86) there is a section right after the instructions you have to acknowledge as having read. It states “I have read the instructions and I understand that if I withhold, misrepresent, or falsify information on this form, I am subject to the penalties for inaccurate or false statement (per U.S. Criminal Code, Title 18, section 1001), denial or revocation of a security clearance, and/or removal and debarment from Federal service.”
The security clearance background investigation process falls under federal guidelines, therefore any criminal charges must be filed in a Federal District Court by the charging agency. If convicted, the criminal penalties include fines of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment up to five years. So why don’t we hear of anyone (other than background investigators) getting charged with and convicted for this offense? The reason most instances of falsification or misrepresentation on clearance applications do not result in criminal charges is simple. First, Office of the Inspector General Special Agents or that specific agency’s law enforcement officers have a big workload with more serious or higher priority investigations to pursue, so unless there are other criminal charges involved they most likely will not pursue it. Second, Federal prosecutors also have an enormous workload and don’t want to spend the resources, time and effort on these types of case