Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

San Jacinto Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your retail store, then you might have been the recipient of a a notice from the USDA. The notice is probably a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you have violated the SNAP program. The government will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation letter, and it will contain records of transactions that happened at your retail store that the USDA is saying violates one or more categories of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation letter, you should speak to our our legal team. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you choose to ignore, the USDA will suspend your stores privilege to accept EBT payments.

About The SNAP Program

This program helps families with get food each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed to consumers with an EBT card. The funds on this card aren’t for general usage, and they can’t 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 where the recipient lives. The SNAP program is run on a nationwide level by the government.

The SNAP federal 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 violations occur when a store is in violation of the following rules.

The store took part inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

Your store submitted incorrect information on your retail stores application to accept EBT benefits.

Your store took money for 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

Our law firm has experience managing SNAP appeals letters. Our team of attorneys can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 3 phases of a SNAP Violation action.

Sending the violation letter is the first step which is taken by the USDA USDA to take away your EBT license. This letter may come with, or without, prior warnings and can happen at any time. The charging letter has a variety of allegations, but most letters will outline serious allegations, with an attachment of details. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. 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.

Once the USDA reviews your answer to the SNAP violation letter, the USDA may still feel that a violation has occurred. If this happens, they’ll will issue another letter that specifically states the agencies legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the store based on the allegations set forth. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. After you hire our firm, 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 the necessary appeals briefs containing all of the legal laws, evidence, etc. which is critical to fix the outcome.

In the event the USDA refuses to change the legal decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. The Judicial Appeal is like a normal 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 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 limitations. For example, SNAP recipients cant buy electronic goods. If, and when, you violate the laws, you’ll get a SNAP violation letter. Penalties of violating SNAP can include fines and penalties. If it’s believed you did a major SNAP violation, then you may end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In many situations, store owners don’t even know the violations were even occurring. In many situations, unethical employees are misusing the SNAP EBT program. It’s helpful to discuss your case with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer in order to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is delivered to your retail store, you have only 10 days to respond to the claims by the USDA. Your failure to respond to the allegations 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. 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 decision of the USDA and fight any decision. The fines imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully does huge fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA will typically look to see if you have a compliance policy in place. It must be in writing at the store and in effect when the allegations were filed.

The retailer must be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA typically also looks to see if the retail store owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or if the business owners were aware of the fraud. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any store owner 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.