Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Holyoke Snap Violation Lawyers

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

After you get a SNAP violation letter, you should definitely speak to our our legal team. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you choose to ignore, the government will terminate/suspend your stores privilege to accept EBT payments.

About The Program

The SNAP program provides families with funds to buy food each month. These benefits are distributed via an EBT card. The SNAP benefits on this card are not for general use, and they cannot be used for cash back transactions. The EBT cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued in the state which the SNAP participant lives. This program is run on a nationwide level by the federal government.

The SNAP program 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 occur when a retail store is in violation of the rules below.

The grocery store is accused ofthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

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

Your grocery store took money for more EBT food stamps than sale of actual food over the same period.

The employees of the store have taken SNAP benefits from someone who isn’t eligible to use the benefits.

Defending against a SNAP Violation Letter

Our law firm has experience managing SNAP appeals letters. Our law firm can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 3 phases of a SNAP violation action.

The charging letter is the initial step taken by the USDA to remove your EBT license. This comes with no warning and can happen at any time. The charging letter will contain allegations, but most of them will outline violations, with an attachment of details. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. Once you hire Spodek Law Group, we handle 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 SNAP violation letter, the USDA might still believe that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will issue another letter which outlines the governments decision to suspend or disqualify the grocery store based on the alleged violations. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you choose not to, then you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. After you hire our firm, we file the necessary paperwork to notify the USDA appeal the decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and we will draft generate an appellate brief containing all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is critical to overturn the decision.

In the event the USDA refuses to override the binding decision, in the Administrative Review, our lawyers will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This process is like a normal case, where you’ll have to do standard processes like discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our attorneys can handle these cases in all 50 states.

SNAP Violations

As a grocery store retailer, there’s a lot of rules and regulations which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most cases, many grocery store owners have no issues adhering to them. 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, people getting SNAP benefits cant buy electronic goods. As a retailer, if you violate the laws, you’ll probably get a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in fines, and penalties. If it’s believed you did a serious violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores didn’t even know SNAP violations were even occurring. Often, unethical employees who 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 charge letter is delivered to your retail store, you only have ten days to respond to the violations. Failure to respond to the violations will permanently harm your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will deliver a verdict even though you don’t 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 lawyers will 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 look to see if you have a store compliance policy in place. The policy must be in writing and the policy must be when the allegations were filed.

The grocery store also has to be able to prove the above mentioned 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 retail store owners benefited from the violations, or if the owners were aware of the fraud. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any grocery 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.