Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Lynn Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your retail store, then you might have received a letter from the USDA. This notice is most likely a SNAP violation notice, which is claiming you violated the SNAP program. The government will include proof to the SNAP violation letter, and it will contain records of transactions that happened at your store that the government is saying is in violation of one or more genres of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation letter, you should definitely contact our law firm. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you don’t respond, the government will terminate/suspend your grocery store’s ability to take EBT.

About The Program

The SNAP program provides families with a certain amount of money each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed to consumers with an EBT card. The SNAP benefits on the EBT card cannot legally be used for general usage, and they cannot be used for cash back services. The EBT cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and the card is issued by each state individually which the SNAP participant lives. The program is run on a national level by the government.

The government and it’s parameters are governed 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 violations happen when a retail store violates any of the following rules.

The store was involved intrafficking SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting the benefits, or stealing the benefits.

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

The store submitted incorrect info on your store’s application to accept EBT benefits.

Your grocery store took money for more coupons than sale of actual food at the same time.

The employees of the store took SNAP benefits from someone who isn’t allowed to use them.

How we can help defend you against a SNAP violation notice

Spodek Law Group has immense experience managing SNAP appeals letters. Our law firm can handle your SNAP violation process in all 3 phases of a SNAP violation action.

Sending the letter is the initial step taken by the USDA to take away your right to take EBT benefits. The letter can come with no warning and can happen at any time. The violation letter contain details about alleged violations, but most letters will outline violations, with an attachment of details. You have only 10 days to respond. Once you hire our law firm, we take into their hands all of the communicationswith the USDA and for compiling all the necessary evidence, and drafting a response to the USDA.

Once the USDA reviews your answer to the violation letter, the USDA might still decide that your store has violated the rules. If that happens, they’ll will definitely send another letter that outlines the agencies decision to suspend or disqualify the store based on the allegations set forth. Like before, you have 10 days to protest this decision. If you choose not to, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our firm, we file the necessary paperwork to notify the government appeal the decision. Our lawyers collect necessary evidence, and we will draft draft an appellate brief which contains all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is needed to change the outcome of the violations.

If the USDA refuses to override the violation claim, in the Administrative Review, we will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. The Judicial Appeal is like a normal federal court 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 food store retailer, there are many laws which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most normal situations, many grocery store owners don’t run into problems. However, the SNAP program can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limitations. For example, SNAP recipients cant buy electronic goods. As a retailer, if you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in fines, and penalties. If it’s believed you did a serious violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores didn’t know the violations were even occurring. Often, it’s dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to consult with a SNAP violation lawyer to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a charge letter is delivered to your store, you have only ten days to respond to the allegations. Your failure to respond to the allegations will permanently crush your store. In addition, the USDA will make a verdict even if you choose not to respond to the allegations. Without legal experience, you cannot defend your store. Retaining a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our SNAP appeals lawyers will challenge the decision of the USDA and appeal any decision. The penalties imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully does huge fines to curb violations. The USDA will typically look to see if you have a compliance policy in place. The policy must be in writing at the store and in effect when the violations were filed.

The grocery store also has to be able to prove the compliance policy was in existence before the allegations, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA will also look in order to see if the retail store owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or were aware of the violation. Any involvement of the management can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any grocery store owner that receives a letter speak to with a SNAP violation attorney. Failure can result 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.