Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Carlsbad Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your grocery store, then may have gotten a official warning from the USDA. This notification is most likely a SNAP violation notice, which is alleging you are in violation of the SNAP program. The USDA will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation notice, and it will have records of transactions which occurred at your retail store which the government claims violates one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation letter, you should 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 grocery store’s ability to take EBT.

About The SNAP Program

This program provides families with get food each month. These benefits are distributed to consumers via an EBT card. The funds on the card cannot be used for general use, and they can’t be used for cash back services. The cards took the place of food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued by each state individually where the consumer lives. The SNAP program is operated on a nationwide level by the federal government.

The federal and it’s parameters 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 happen when a retail store violates any of the rules below.

The retail store was involved inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting benefits, or stealing the benefits.

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

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

Your store redeemed more coupons than food sales over the same period.

Your employees took 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 handling SNAP appeals letters. We can handle your SNAP violation process in all phases of a SNAP Violation action.

The charging letter is the first step taken by the USDA to take away your EBT license. This comes with, or without, prior warnings and can happen at any time. The charging letter has a variety of allegations, but most letters will lay out serious allegations, with an attachment of details. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. Once you hire Spodek Law Group, 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 notice of violation, the USDA may still feel 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 allegations set forth. Like before, you have 10 days to protest the decision. If you choose not to, you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. After you hire our law firm, our team 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, legal evidence, etc. which is critical to fix the outcome.

If the USDA refuses to override the decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This process is like a normal case, where you’ll be able to do discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our law firm 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 normal situations, many grocery store owners don’t run into problems. However, SNAP can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limitations. For example, people getting SNAP benefits cant purchase 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 it’s believed you did a major SNAP violation, then you might end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores don’t know the violations were even happening. In many situations, dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP EBT program. It’s helpful to speak with a SNAP violation lawyer to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your store, you have only 10 days to respond to the claims. Your failure to respond will permanently harm 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. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our SNAP appeals lawyers will discredit the findings of the USDA and fight any decision. The financial penalties imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose does huge fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. The policy must be in writing at the store and in effect when the violations were filed.

The grocery store also has to be able to prove the compliance policy was in place before the charge, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA typically also looks in order 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 grocery store 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.