Charleston Snap Violation Lawyers
7 CFR 278.6(b)(1)
We owe loyalty to only you.
When you’re looking online, you have multiple options. There are so many firms advertising SNAP defense. Thankfully, your search is over. Spodek Law Group P.C. offers premier white-glove service and we’re unafraid of fighting. Unlike firms that are more focused on their relationship with the agency than with you, we owe loyalty to only YOU. Your store, your family, your license.
One reason our firm has such a high success rate is that we’re selective about who we work with. If we’re choosing to work with you, it’s because we think we can make a positive impact. That’s vastly different from firms that take on any client willing to pay. When you reach out, you start with a risk-free consultation - and you can ask us anything you want, regardless of how long it takes.
If there’s a way to keep your store in the program, we’ll find it. That’s the whole job.
If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your grocery store, then may have received a official warning from the USDA. The notification is most likely a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you violated the SNAP program. The government will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation notice, which will have transactions which occurred at your store that the government claims is in violation of one or more groups of violations.
The first thing 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 stores privilege to take EBT.
About The SNAP Program
This program provides families with funds to buy food each month. These benefits are distributed through an EBT card. The benefits on the EBT card are not for general use, and they cannot be used for cash back services. The EBT cards took the place of food stamps in the 1990’s and the card is issued in the state which the SNAP participant lives. The program is operated on a national level by the government.
The program and it’s parameters 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 does it mean to have a SNAP violation
Snap violations happen when a store violates any of the following rules.
The store is accused ofthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or stealing the benefits. The grocery store accepted SNAP funds in exchange for nonfood items like alcohol, tobacco, or other goods. The store submitted incorrect info on the grocery stores application to accept EBT benefits. The store redeemed more coupons than sale of actual food at the same time. Your employees accepted 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 immense experience handling SNAP appeals letters. We can handle your SNAP violation process in all 3 phases of a SNAP violation action.
Sending the 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, or without, prior warnings and can appear at any time. The SNAP violation letter will contain allegations, but most letters will mention violations, have evidence attached proving the violations. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. After you hire our law firm, we take into their hands 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 notice of violation, the USDA might still feel that your store has violated the rules. If that happens, they’ll will definitely send a second letter that outlines their legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the store based on the alleged violations. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you don’t, you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. After you hire our lawyers, we file the necessary paperwork to notify them we are going to appeal their decision. Our lawyers collect necessary evidence, and we will draft generate the necessary appeals briefs containing all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is necessary to change the outcome of the violations.
If the USDA refuses to override the binding decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal Court. The Judicial Appeal is like a normal case, where you’ll have to do standard processes like 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 normal situations, many grocery store owners don’t run into problems. However, USDA’s SNAP program 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 purchase electronic goods. If you violate the laws, you’ll probably get a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in severe fines. If you conduct a major violation, then you might end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores don’t know SNAP violations were even occurring. Often, unethical employees are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to discuss your case with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.
When a SNAP violation letter is presented to your grocery store, you have only ten days to respond to the claims by the USDA. 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. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you a fighting change. Our lawyers can discredit the findings of the USDA and appeal any decision. The financial penalties imposed can be huge - to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose does huge fines to curb 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 at the time the allegations were filed.
The store owner also has to be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA typically also looks to check if the grocery 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.
We highly recommend any owner that receives a allegation 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.
When the biggest cases break, we get the call. That same team answers your ten days.
When the networks need a federal file explained in plain English, they call us.
This bench answers its own phone. Put it on your case.
Tell us what happened. Eight fields, two minutes - and a lawyer reads it today.
Read us the first line of the letter. We’ll tell you what day you’re on.
Bring the envelope, the attachment, and your invoices if you have them. If you don’t have them, bring the letter. The consultation is risk-free, it stays between us, and it happens today - ask us anything, regardless of how long it takes.