Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Pontiac Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your retail store, then it’s possible have gotten a notice from the USDA. This notice is most likely a SNAP violation notice, which is alleging you violated the SNAP program. The government will include proof to the SNAP violation letter, which will have transactions which happened at your grocery store which the government claims violates one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation notice, you must contact our law firm. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you choose to ignore, the USDA will suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT.

About The Program

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

This government and the benefits that come with it are governed by the US 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 if and when a retail store violates any of the following rules.

The retail store was involved intrafficking SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

Your store submitted incorrect info on your grocery stores application to accept EBT benefits.

Your grocery store redeemed more coupons than food sales at the same time.

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

How to defend your store against a SNAP violation

Spodek Law Group has experience managing SNAP appeals letters. We can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 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 right to take EBT benefits. The letter can come with no warning can come at any time. The violation letter has a variety of allegations, but most letters will mention violations, with an attachment of details. You have only 10 days to respond. After 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.

After reviewing the store’s answer to the SNAP violation letter, the USDA might still believe that your store has violated the rules. If that happens, the USDA will issue a second letter that specifically states the agencies legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the store based on the alleged violations. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you don’t, then you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. After you hire our lawyers, we’ll file the necessary paperwork to notify them we are going to appeal their decision. We’ll gather necessary evidence, and our team will draft the necessary appeals briefs which contains all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is necessary to fix the outcome.

In the event the USDA refuses to override the decision, in the Administrative Review, our lawyers will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. The Judicial Appeal 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’s a lot of rules and regulations you have to adhere to for EBT. In most cases, many grocery 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 you conduct a major SNAP violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In most cases, store owners didn’t even know SNAP violations are even happening. Often, it’s dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to consult with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a charge letter is sent to your store, you have only ten days to respond to the claims. Failure to respond will permanently harm your store. In addition, the USDA will deliver a verdict even though you choose not to respond to the allegations. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Retaining a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our lawyers will 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 chooses to impose huge fines to curb violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. It has to be in writing at the store and in effect at the time the allegations were filed.

The grocery store 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 to check 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 owner that receives a allegation 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.