Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Miami Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your retail store, then may have been the recipient of a a official notice from the USDA. The notification is probably a SNAP violation letter, which is alleging you have violated the SNAP program. The government will include proof to the SNAP violation letter, which will have records of transactions which occurred at your grocery store which the USDA claims is in violation of one or more groups of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation notice, you should speak to our our law firm. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you choose to ignore, the government will terminate/suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT.

About The SNAP Program

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

The federal and it’s benefits are governed 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 occur when a store is in violation of the rules below.

The store took part intrafficking SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

Your store submitted incorrect info on your retail stores application to accept EBT benefits.

The store redeemed more EBT food stamps than actual food sales during the same period.

Your employees accepted SNAP benefits from someone who isn’t allowed to use them.

How we can help defend you against a SNAP violation notice

Spodek Law Group has experience handling 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 taken by the USDA to remove your right to take EBT benefits. This comes with, or without, prior warnings and can appear at any time. The charging letter will have allegations in it, but most letters will detail serious allegations, have evidence attached proving the violations. You have only 10 days to respond. Once 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 notice of violation, the USDA may still decide that a violation has occurred. If this happens, they’ll will definitely send a second letter which specifically states the governments legal verdict to suspend or disqualify the store based on the alleged violations. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you choose not to, you’ll be unable to protest the USDA decision. After you hire our firm, our team the legal papers to notify the USDA we are going to appeal their decision. We’ll gather necessary evidence, and our team will draft an appellate brief which contains all of the case law, evidence, etc. which is necessary to change the outcome of the violations.

If the USDA refuses to change the binding decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll 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. We can handle these cases in all 50 states.

SNAP Violations

As a food store retailer, there are many laws which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most cases, many retail store owners have no problems adhering to them. However, the 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. If, and when, you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in severe fines. If it’s believed you did a major violation, then you might end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores don’t know the violations are even happening. Often, dishonest employees are misusing the SNAP program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to speak with a SNAP violation attorney to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is sent to your grocery store, you only have 10 days to respond to the violations. Your failure to respond to the allegations will permanently crush your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will generate a verdict even if you don’t respond to the allegations. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Retaining a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our SNAP appeals lawyers will discredit 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 purposefully does large fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. It has to be in writing at the store and the policy must be at the time the allegations were filed.

The retailer must be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA will also look 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.

We highly recommend 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.