Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Detroit Snap Violation Attorneys

Throughout the United States, the SNAP program enables tens of millions of Americans to stave off the worst effects of poverty. Since 1964, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has served as a lifeline for those Americans who have fallen on hard times. It has been a crucial safety net for the millions of impoverished and at-risk children who would otherwise go hungry throughout the nation.

So successful has the SNAP program been at virtually eliminating the most extreme consequences of poverty that it has served as a global model upon which anti-poverty measures have been built across the planet. Since Lyndon Johnson first announced his initiative known as the War on Poverty in the mid 1960s, the program has proven itself to be an effective and relatively cost-efficient means of ensuring that no resident of a first-world country ever need face a day of hunger in their lives.

But for the entirety of the program’s existence, fraud has been a constant worry. During the first decade of the program, it was estimated by experts that up to ten cents of every dollar spent by the taxpayers was diverted through various kinds of fraud and abuse. Such statistics were untenable for an expensive social welfare program.

The government reacted by creating an entire enforcement arm within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Known as the Food and Nutrition Service, the agency within an agency was tasked with combating all kinds of fraud, abuse and other violations of the SNAP program and its regulations. Within a few decades, the efforts proved fruitful. Today, it is estimated that only one cent of every dollar spent by SNAP beneficiaries at the retail level is consumed by fraudulent activities. This dramatic reduction in the incidence of fraud has done much to shore up the confidence in a program that annually costs the taxpayer nearly $100 million.

But the vigorous enforcement efforts have had many collateral consequences. One result has been a sharp increase in the number of investigations conducted. Each year, more than 15,000 stores and their owners are investigated for potential SNAP-related violations. As a result of these activities, each year, around 5,000 store owners are sanctioned or otherwise punished for violations of the program’s rules. Up to 500 of these store owners are actually sent to jail or prison.

This means that accepting SNAP, which has become an almost universal imperative for anyone operating a grocery or convenience store in the United States today, carries with it the real risk of being targeted in a USDA investigation.

If you receive a USDA letter, it’s serious

Many store owners fail to take the seriousness of USDA letters regarding accusations of SNAP violations into account. If you are a SNAP-eligible store owner and have received a letter from the USDA accusing you of SNAP violations, it is absolutely critical that you hire a competent and experienced lawyer as soon as possible.

The laws surrounding SNAP issues make it a particularly unique and complex area of legal practice. Your chances of successfully resolving a case opened against you by the USDA will hinge substantially on the expertise of your lawyer or legal team. With the right counsel, your chances of successfully resolving your case will be high. However, without adequate legal defense, targets of the SNAP investigation process are all too often subjected to being made examples of by zealous investigators looking to make a name for themselves.

The bottom line is that you need the lawyer you can get.

Our law firm can make a real difference

The good news is that once the USDA bureaucrats understand that the target of their investigation is being represented by competent and experienced counsel, they are less likely to continue harassing a hapless store owner. The truth is that the vast majority of SNAP-related investigations can be negotiated away, with the store owner only paying a small fine. This is even true where wrongdoing on the part of the store owner is clear, but is almost guaranteed where there was no criminal intent.

The thing that you can do, should you find yourself under USDA scrutiny for SNAP violations, is to call our law firm. We can make the difference in your case.