Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Fort Myers Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your retail store, then you might have received a letter of warning from the USDA. This notification is probably a SNAP violation letter, which is alleging you have violated the SNAP program. The government will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation notice, which will contain transactions which occurred at your store which the government is saying is in violation of one or more genres of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation notice, you should contact our legal team. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you choose to ignore, the USDA will suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT.

About The SNAP Program

This program provides families with money each month. These benefits are distributed to consumers with an EBT card. The benefits on the EBT card are not for general use, and they can’t be used for cash back transactions. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued by each state individually where the recipient lives. This program is operated on a nationwide level by the government.

The federal and the benefits that come with it 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 store violates any of the following rules.

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

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

The store submitted false information on the store’s application to accept EBT benefits.

Your grocery store took money for more EBT food stamps than food sales during the same period.

Your employees 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 experience managing SNAP violations letters. Our law firm can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 3 phases of a SNAP action.

The charging letter is the initial step which is taken by the USDA USDA to take away your right to take EBT benefits. This comes with, or without, prior warnings can come at any time. The charging letter has a variety of allegations, but most letters will outline serious allegations, have evidence attached proving the violations. You have only 10 days to respond. Once you hire our law firm, we handle 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 may still feel that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will definitely send a second letter which outlines their legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the retail store based on the accusations previously mentioned. Like before, you have ten days to protest the decision. If you choose not to, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our firm, our team the necessary paperwork and notify them we are going to appeal their decision. Our lawyers collect necessary evidence, and we will draft draft the necessary appeals briefs containing all of the case law, evidence, etc. which is necessary to overturn the decision.

In the event the USDA refuses to overturn the decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This next phase is like a normal federal court case, where you’ll have to do standard processes like discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our lawyers 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 cases, many retail store owners have no issues adhering to them. However, the SNAP program can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limits on how the funds can be used. For example, people getting SNAP benefits cant buy electronic goods. If, and when, you violate the laws, you’ll get a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in severe fines. If you conduct a serious SNAP violation, then you might end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores don’t even know SNAP violations were even happening. In many situations, dishonest employees are misusing the SNAP EBT program. It’s helpful to speak with a SNAP violation attorney in order to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is presented to your retail store, you only have ten days to respond to the allegations. Your failure to respond will permanently crush your store. In addition, the USDA will generate a verdict even if you don’t respond to the allegations. Without legal experience, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Retaining a SNAP violation lawyer gives you a fighting change. Our lawyers will challenge the decision of the USDA and appeal any decision. The fines imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose chooses to impose huge fines to curb violations. The USDA will look to see if you have a store compliance policy in place. The policy has to be in writing and the policy must be when the violations were filed.

The retailer also be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in existence before the allegations, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA typically also looks to see if the retail store owners benefited from the violations, or if the business owners were aware of the fraud. If the management was involved it can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any store that gets a 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.