Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Boulder Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your grocery store, then you might have received a letter from the USDA. This letter is most likely a SNAP violation letter, which is claiming you have violated the SNAP program. The government will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation letter, which will have records of transactions which happened at your retail store that the government is saying violates one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation letter, you must speak to our our law firm. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you don’t respond, the government will suspend your stores ability to take EBT.

About The SNAP Program

The SNAP program helps families with get food each month. The SNAP program benefits are given through an EBT card. The SNAP benefits on this card aren’t for general usage, 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 which the SNAP participant lives. The program is run on a nationwide level by the federal government.

The SNAP program and the benefits that come with it are governed 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 if and when a grocery store violates any of the following rules.

The retail store is accused oftrafficking SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting the benefits, or stealing the benefits.

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

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

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

Your employees have taken SNAP benefits from an unauthorized person who isn’t allowed to use the benefits.

Defending against a SNAP Violation Letter

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

Sending the letter is the initial step which is taken by the USDA USDA to take away your right to take EBT benefits. The letter can come with, or without, prior warnings can come at any time. The violation letter has a variety of allegations, but most letters will lay out violations, have evidence attached proving the violations. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. After you hire Spodek Law Group, our lawyers 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 may still feel that a violation has occurred. If this happens, the USDA will definitely send a second letter which outlines their decision to suspend or disqualify the grocery store based on the allegations set forth. Like before, you have 10 days to appeal the verdict. If you don’t, you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. Once you hire our lawyers, we’ll file the legal papers and notify them appeal the decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and our team will draft the necessary appeals briefs which contains all of the case law, evidence, etc. which is critical to overturn the decision.

If the USDA refuses to change the legal decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll 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 grocery store retailer, there are many laws which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most normal situations, many retail store owners have no problems adhering to them. However, the SNAP program can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limitations. For example, people getting SNAP benefits cant get electronic goods. If, and when, you violate the laws, you’ll get a SNAP violation letter. Penalties of violating SNAP can result in fines, and penalties. If it’s believed you did a major SNAP violation, then you might end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In many situations, store owners didn’t know SNAP violations were even happening. In many situations, dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP EBT program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to consult with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your retail store, you only have 10 days to respond to the claims by the USDA. Failure to respond 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. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our lawyers can challenge the decision of the USDA and appeal any penalties. The penalties imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully chooses to impose huge fines to curb violations. The USDA will look to see if you have a store compliance policy in place. It must be in writing and the policy must be at the time the violations were filed.

The grocery store also 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 owners benefited from the violations, or were aware of the violation. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any owner that gets a letter speak to 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.