Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Lubbock Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your retail store, then it’s possible have received a official notice from the USDA. This letter is probably a SNAP violation letter, which is claiming you are in violation of the SNAP program. The USDA will include proof to the SNAP violation notice, which will have transactions that occurred at your retail store that the USDA claims violates one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation notice, you must speak to our our law firm. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you choose to ignore, the government will suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT payments.

About The SNAP Program

The SNAP program provides families with a certain amount of money each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed via an EBT card. The benefits on the card cannot be used for general use, and they can’t be used for fraudulent cash back services. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued in the state where the recipient lives. This program is operated on a national level by the federal government.

This program and it’s parameters are under handled by the US Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. The USDA FNS agency enforces the regulations and runs the program.

What does it mean to have a SNAP violation

SNAP legal violations happen when a retail store violates any of the following rules.

The grocery store was involved inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting the benefits, or stealing the benefits.

Your retail store accepted SNAP benefits in exchange for nonfood items like alcohol, tobacco, or other goods.

The store submitted incorrect info on the retail stores application to accept EBT benefits.

Your store redeemed more EBT food stamps than food sales during the same period.

Your employees have taken SNAP benefits from someone who isn’t allowed to use them.

Defending against a SNAP Violation Letter

Our law firm has immense experience managing SNAP violation letters. Our team of attorneys can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all phases of a SNAP violation action.

The charging letter is the first step which is taken by the USDA USDA to remove your EBT license. This letter may come with no warning and can happen at any time. The charging letter will contain allegations, but most of them will outline violations, with an attachment of details. You have only 10 days to respond. After you hire our law firm, our lawyers handle all of the communicationswith the USDA and for compiling all the necessary evidence, and drafting a response to the USDA.

After reviewing the store’s answer to the SNAP violation letter, the USDA may still feel that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will 100% issue a second letter which outlines their decision to suspend or disqualify the retail store based on the alleged violations. Like before, you have 10 days to protest this decision. If you choose not to, you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. Once you hire our lawyers, our team the necessary paperwork to notify them we are going to appeal their decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and our team will draft an appellate brief containing all of the case law, evidence, etc. which is critical to fix the outcome.

In the event the USDA refuses to override the violation claim, in the Administrative Review, we will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This process is like a normal case, where you’ll be able to do discovery, file motions, and have a trial. We can handle these cases in all 50 states.

SNAP Violations

As a grocery store retailer, there are many laws which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most normal situations, many retail store owners don’t run into problems. However, SNAP can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limits on how the funds can be used. For example, SNAP recipients cant get electronic goods. As a retailer, if you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in severe fines. If it’s believed you did a major violation, then you may end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In most cases, owners of grocery stores didn’t know the violations were even happening. In many situations, dishonest employees are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to consult with a SNAP violation lawyer to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your store, you have only ten days to respond to the claims by the USDA. Failure to respond will permanently crush your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will generate a verdict even if you don’t respond to the allegations. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you a fighting change. Our SNAP appeals lawyers can discredit the decision of the USDA and appeal any penalties. The penalties imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose does large fines to curb violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. It must be in writing and the policy must be at the time the allegations were filed.

The retailer also has to be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA will also look to check if the owners benefited from the violations, or were aware of the violation. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any store that gets a allegation letter consult with a SNAP violation attorney. Choosing not to respond in negative consequences. The USDA is required by Congress to issue a disqualification for a period of up to 5 years. This can result in huge losses which are hard to recover from.