Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Ogden Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your retail store, then may have been the recipient of a a letter of warning from the USDA. The notification is probably a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you are in violation of the SNAP program. The government will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation notice, and it will contain records of transactions that occurred at your retail store which the USDA claims violates one or more genres of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation notice, you should definitely contact our legal team. 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 accept EBT payments.

About The SNAP Program

This program helps 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 legally be used for general usage, and they cannot be used for cash back transactions. The EBT cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued in the state which the SNAP participant lives. This program is run on a national level by the government.

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

What counts as a SNAP violation

Snap violations occur when a retail store is in violation of the following rules.

The retail store took part intrafficking SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or stealing the benefits.

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

Your store submitted false info on the grocery stores application to accept EBT benefits.

The store redeemed more EBT food stamps than sale of actual food over the same period.

The employees of the store have taken SNAP benefits from someone who isn’t eligible to use the benefits.

How we can help defend you against a SNAP violation notice

Spodek Law Group has immense experience managing SNAP violations letters. We can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 3 phases of a SNAP action.

Sending the letter is the first step which is going to be taken by USDA to remove your right to take EBT benefits. This comes with no warning can come at any time. The charging letter contain details about alleged violations, but most of them will lay out violations, and have attached documents detailing the violations. You have only 10 days to respond. Once 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 believe that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will 100% issue another letter which outlines the agencies legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the store based on the accusations previously mentioned. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you choose not to, then you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our lawyers, we’ll file the necessary paperwork and notify the USDA we are going to appeal their decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and we will draft draft an appellate brief which contains all of the case law, evidence, etc. which is critical to change the outcome of the violations.

In the event the USDA refuses to overturn the decision, in the Administrative Review, we will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This process is like a normal federal court case, where you’ll have to do standard processes like discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our attorneys can handle these cases in all 50 states.

SNAP Violations

As a food store retailer, there are many laws you have to adhere to for EBT. In most cases, many retail store owners have no problems adhering to them. 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 purchase electronic goods. If, and when, you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Penalties of violating SNAP can result in severe fines. If you conduct a serious violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, store owners didn’t even know the violations are even happening. In many situations, dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to discuss your case with a SNAP violation lawyer in order to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your retail store, you have only 10 days to respond to the violations. Your failure to respond to the allegations will permanently harm your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will deliver a verdict even though 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 can challenge the findings of the USDA and fight any penalties. The penalties imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully imposes huge fines to curb violations. The USDA will look to see if you have a store compliance policy in place. It has to be in writing and in effect when the allegations were filed.

The store owner must be able to prove the compliance policy was in existence before the allegations, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA will also look in order to see if the retail store owners benefited from the violations, or if the owners were aware of the fraud. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any store that gets a violation letter consult 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.