Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Gresham Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your grocery store, then it’s possible have gotten a official notice from the USDA. This letter is probably a SNAP violation letter, which is stating you have violated the SNAP program. The USDA will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation letter, and it will have records of transactions which occurred at your retail store that the government claims is in violation of one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation letter, you must speak to our our legal team. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you don’t respond, the USDA will terminate/suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT payments.

About The Program

This program helps families with funds to buy food each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed to consumers via an EBT card. The benefits on the card aren’t for general use, and they can’t be used for fraudulent cash back services. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and the card is issued in the state where the recipient lives. The SNAP program is run on a nationwide level by the federal government.

The federal and it’s benefits are governed by the US Code and the Code of Federal Regulations. The USDA FNS agency enforces the regulations and runs the program.

What’s a SNAP Violation

SNAP legal violations happen when a grocery store violates any of the rules below.

The store took part inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

The store submitted incorrect info on the retail stores application to accept EBT benefits.

The grocery store redeemed more coupons than actual food sales at the same time.

The employees of the store took SNAP benefits from someone who shouldn’t be allowed to use the benefits.

How to defend your store against a SNAP violation

Our law firm has immense experience managing SNAP appeals letters. Our team of attorneys can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all phases of a SNAP action.

The charging letter is the initial step which is taken by the USDA USDA to take away your EBT license. This letter may come with, or without, prior warnings and can happen at any time. The SNAP violation letter will have allegations in it, but most letters will lay out violations, with an attachment of details. You have only 10 days to respond. Once you hire our law firm, our lawyers 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 SNAP violation letter, the USDA may still feel that your store has violated the rules. If that happens, the USDA will 100% issue a second letter that specifically states the governments decision to suspend or disqualify the retail store based on the alleged violations. Like before, you have ten days to protest the verdict. If you choose not to, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. After you hire our firm, we’ll file the appeal to notify the USDA appeal the decision. Our lawyers collect necessary evidence, and our team will generate an appellate brief containing all of the legal laws, legal evidence, etc. which is needed to overturn the decision.

In the event the USDA refuses to change the violation claim, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal Court. This next phase is like a normal court 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 have to obey in order to accept EBT. In most cases, many grocery store owners don’t run into problems. However, the SNAP program can be tricky. SNAP handles the Electronic Benefits Transfer Card, and has limitations. For example, SNAP recipients cant buy electronic goods. If, and when, you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Penalties of violating SNAP can result in severe and business crushing penalties. If you conduct a major violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In most cases, store owners don’t know the violations are even occurring. In many situations, dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to discuss your case with a SNAP violation attorney to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your retail store, you have only ten days to respond to the allegations. Failure to respond will permanently harm your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will generate a verdict even if you choose not to respond to the allegations. Without legal experience, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you a fighting change. Our lawyers can fight the findings of the USDA and appeal any decision. The financial penalties imposed can expensive – 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 at the store and the policy must be at the time the allegations were filed.

The retailer also has to be able to prove the compliance policy was in existence before the allegations, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA typically also looks to check if the owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or if the business owners were aware of the fraud. Any involvement of the management can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any store owner that gets a allegation letter consult 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.