Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Hialeah Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your grocery store, then you might have received a letter of warning from the USDA. The notification is most likely a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you have violated the SNAP program. The government will include proof to the SNAP violation notice, which will have records of transactions which occurred at your retail store which the USDA claims is in violation of one or more genres of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation notice, you should definitely 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 terminate/suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT.

About The Program

The SNAP program provides families with a certain amount of money each month. These benefits are distributed to consumers through an EBT card. The benefits on this card cannot legally be used for general use, and they cannot be used for cash back services. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued in the state where the recipient lives. The SNAP program is operated on a national level by the federal government.

This program and the benefits that come with it 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’s a SNAP Violation

SNAP legal violations happen if and when a retail store violates any of the rules below.

The grocery store was involved inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

The store submitted false information on the grocery stores application to accept EBT benefits.

Your grocery store took money for more coupons than food sales over the same period.

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

How we can help defend you against a SNAP violation notice

Spodek Law Group has experience managing SNAP violation letters. We can handle your SNAP violation process in all phases of a SNAP violation action.

The charging letter is the initial step which is taken by the USDA USDA to remove your EBT license. This comes with no warning and can appear at any time. The violation letter will contain allegations, but most of them will mention violations, with an attachment of details. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. After you hire Spodek Law Group, our lawyers take into their hands 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 violation letter, the USDA may still decide that your store has violated the rules. If that happens, they’ll will 100% issue a second letter which specifically states the governments decision to suspend or disqualify the retail store based on the alleged violations. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you choose not to, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our law firm, we’ll file the appeal and notify them appeal the decision. We’ll collect necessary evidence, and we will draft draft an appellate brief containing all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is needed to fix the outcome.

If the USDA refuses to overturn the binding decision, in the Administrative Review, we will 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. 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 retail store owners have no issues adhering to them. However, SNAP 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 fines, and penalties. If you conduct a major violation, then you might end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In most cases, owners of grocery stores don’t know SNAP violations were even happening. Often, dishonest employees are misusing the SNAP program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to consult with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is delivered to your grocery store, you only have 10 days to respond to the claims by the USDA. Your failure to respond to the allegations will permanently harm your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will deliver a verdict even though you choose not to respond to the allegations. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, you cannot defend your store. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our SNAP appeals lawyers can fight the findings of the USDA and appeal any penalties. The financial penalties imposed can expensive – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose chooses to impose large fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA will typically look to see if you have a compliance policy in place. The policy has to be in writing and in effect when the violations were filed.

The grocery store must has to be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in existence before the allegations, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA will also look to check if the grocery store owners benefited from the violations, or if the owners were aware of the fraud. If the management was involved it can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any store owner that receives a violation 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.