Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Cleveland Snap Violation Attorneys

In America today, it is almost impossible to own or operate a retail convenience or grocery store without taking part in the multi-billion dollar Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. While this program serves a great purpose – the total elimination of the worst forms of poverty and malnutrition – it comes with some onerous requirements, most of which are borne by those in the private sector who supply the beneficiaries with the program-approved food items they seek to buy.

Due to the SNAP program being the showcase achievement of the federal anti-poverty measures that were first enacted under Lyndon Johnson’s administration, the program itself is vigorously policied for any signs of abuse, graft or violations. Administered by a special enforcement arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the SNAP program has a team of more than 100 full-time investigators, analysts and lawyers whose sole job is to find and prosecute any violators of the program’s rules and regulations.

While this zealous enforcement of the program’s regulations has kept fraud to a minimum, it has also caught a great many innocent store owners in its wide net. If you find yourself the target of a Food and Nutrition Service investigation or any other action, the first thing you should do is call a competent lawyer who specialized in food stamp legal actions. The area of law dedicated to government welfare programs is both unique and complex, and it is important to get a lawyer with the dedication and experience to help you win.

A letter from the USDA is serious business

If you are a convenience or grocery store owner in the United States, it is a near certainty that you are also an active participant in the federal SNAP program. If this is the case, you should always be on the lookout for any correspondence from the USDA. A USDA letter may appear to be innocuous. But many such letters are notices of action being taken against the store to which they are sent. If you have received a USDA letter that alleges any violations of the SNAP program, it is extremely important to understand that this is equivalent to a court summons. You have been put on notice that the USDA is accusing you or your store of improprieties regarding the food stamp program, and you are now at risk of losing your eligibility.

Once you have received any correspondence from the USDA regarding violations of the SNAP program, it is critical that you hire a lawyer who is experienced in welfare fraud cases. With the right lawyer, it is possible to delay actions and get investigators to back off where they have weak cases. It is also extremely important that all paperwork is filed correctly and in a timely manner. All too often, inaction causes store owners to lose their ability to participate in the SNAP program. This almost always means that all EBT transactions will be declined from their store’s terminals. We have seen many store owners ultimately forced out of business because they did not act in time to stave off their dismissal from the SNAP program. With timely action, a store under investigation can be provisionally allowed to continue accepting EBT transactions while the investigation is ongoing.

The penalties can be steep

One of the most common penalties for SNAP program violations is that the store in question is simply barred from the program. Some store owners do not fully understand the implications of such an action. Once a store owner is barred from accepting EBT transactions, there is little possibility that any business with which they are associated with in the future will ever be accepted to the SNAP program again. If they fail to disclose their prior bans from the SNAP program, they may be fined or even sent to jail. Being ineligible to transact with EBT holders will make it all but impossible for such a store owner to ever profitably operate a retail convenience store again.

But even more serious are the penalties associated with trafficking EBT funds. Each year, hundreds of store owners are sent to prison for lengthy terms and fined tens of thousands of dollars.

Our lawyers can help you avoid jail and fines. Call us today.