Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Houston Snap Violation Attorneys

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the flagship anti-poverty measure of the U.S. government. With its beginning tracing back as far as the late 1930s, the current manifestation of the program was first established in 1964, under Lyndon Johnson’s famous War on Poverty initiative.

Today, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, provides over 40 million Americans with the basic sustenance they need to stave off nutritional deficiencies. The program is widely regarded as a model of anti-poverty programs and has been emulated across the globe. It is a point of pride for the American progressive movement, as America has virtually eradicated the most severe forms of poverty from its citizenry and has all but eliminated malnutrition from its most disadvantaged children.

However, the prominence of this program and pride surrounding it mean that it is vigorously protected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the government agency tasks with enforcing the program and the regulations pertaining to it. The enforcement efforts have been successful in dramatically reducing the incidence of welfare fraud involving the SNAP program. It is estimated that for every dollar expended on the program, only one cent is consumed by fraud and abuse. This is a significant decline from the early days of the program, when it was estimated that as much as 10 percent of the funds apportioned to the program were being diverted through fraud and graft.

But the vigorous enforcement efforts are a sort of double edged sword for those store owners who participate in the SNAP program. The FDA has over 100 full-time investigators, auditors and other agents dedicated to investigating cases of alleged fraud and abuse. In a typical year, this means that more than 15,000 store owners are caught up in the SNAP enforcement dragnet. For many of these store owners, the experience is jarring and even life-altering. Many of these store owners are completely innocent of any personal wrongdoing and never had the slightest intent to defraud the taxpayer or the beneficiaries of SNAP benefits.

If you are accused, get the legal help you can, as soon as possible

If you are the owner of a SNAP-eligible convenience or grocery store, and you have received a letter from the USDA detailing allegations of SNAP violations, the most important thing that you should do is to immediately put yourself in contact with a competent and experienced SNAP fraud lawyer.

All too often, we see clients that did not take the often vanilla-looking correspondence from the USDA seriously. Make no mistake, if you have received a USDA letter alleging SNAP violations, you are being accused of a serious crime and are facing serious penalties. The most benign penalty that store owners typically face is temporary exclusion from the SNAP program. For many, this would spell almost certain death for their business, as many store owners, particularly those in urban areas, rely on up to a quarter or more of their business from EBT transactions.

But this is only where the penalties start. If you or an employee of your business is being accused of the more serious crime of trafficking, that is, trading non-negotiable SNAP benefits for cash or other monetary consideration, you may be facing up to 25 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution. Unlike other areas of the law, the initial investigation is carried out by the USDA. This often leaves business owners with a false sense of security until it is too late and they find themselves in jail with million-dollar bonds awaiting trial for charges that carry long terms of incarceration.

For this reason, it is absolutely crucial that, should you find yourself under the scrutiny of the USDA for SNAP-related violations, you immediately put yourself in contact with an experienced and competent criminal lawyer.

Our lawyers have years of experience and hundreds of successfully handled cases under our belts. We can help you navigate the often confusing and mine-strewn legal terrain of the USDA investigation process, ensuring that you maximize your chances of a favorable outcome.

With the right legal counsel, your chances of making it through a SNAP abuse investigation are quite good. Give us a call today.