Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

New York Snap Violation Attorneys

In the United States, the main anti-poverty program that allows for U.S. citizens to remain free of malnutrition and starvation is referred to as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. This program was first devised in the 1960s, under President Lyndon Johnson’s anti-poverty program known as the War on Poverty. Since then, it has grown into the chief means of ensuring that no U.S. citizen, especially the country’s most vulnerable children, goes hungry.

The rapid expansion of the SNAP program to its current state means that, today, nearly $100 billion each year is expended by the federal government in benefits at the retail level. This is a significant portion of the estimated $600 billion that American consumers spend on food at retail grocery establishments each year. Such a large-scale program has meant that nearly all convenience and grocery store businesses rely on SNAP revenues to form a large portion of their total profits. It also means that almost every store owner will need to be accepted as a SNAP vendor in order to maintain a viable business.

Throughout the history of the program, fraud has been a major concern. It has been estimated that at the start of the program, up to 10 cents for every dollar spent at the retail level by recipients of SNAP benefits were diverted by fraud and abuse. Today, that figure has been lowered to just one cent of every dollar spent. This dramatic reduction in fraud has been the result of vigorous enforcement efforts as well as the increasing ability of investigators and auditors to track the payments and transactions throughout the system, now that it is largely conducted through exclusively electronic means.

However, the same vigorous enforcement efforts that have so dramatically reduced the incidence of fraud have also caused many innocent store owners to be caught up in the dragnet of anti-fraud zeal. Each year, more than 15,000 store owners come under the scrutiny of the USDA, the agency tasked with enforcing all rules and regulations pertaining to the SNAP program. Over 5,000 of these owners will be subjected to some form of sanction, with hundreds being sent to prison for lengthy terms of incarceration and fined hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It is, therefore, imperative that any time a store owner is accused by the USDA of SNAP-related violations, that they put themselves in contact with a competent and experienced lawyer. All too often, store owners do not take letters from the USDA accusing them of violations seriously. About the that such owners can hope for is a temporary exclusion from the SNAP program. This often entails months or years of ineligibility for any EBT transaction, a measure that will put most small convenience stores out of business.

But there are far more serious penalties to worry about. The most serious punishment for SNAP violations is 25 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution. The bad news is that each year, hundreds of store owners, some of them essentially innocent, are subjected to the harshest punishments allowed under the law for SNAP violations. The good news is that, with early intervention from an experienced lawyer, first-time SNAP violations can almost always be reduced to nothing more than a small fine.

Our legal team can make the difference

If you have received a letter from the USDA outlining allegations of SNAP related fraud or abuse, call us. The sooner you get a competent lawyer on your side, the more likely it is that we will be able to negotiate a favorable outcome on your behalf.

If you are a SNAP-eligible store owner who has never before been found guilty of a SNAP or EBT-related violation, it is almost certain that we will be able to resolve your case with little more than a small fine. Even if you are facing more serious allegations, such as trafficking in SNAP benefits, we can often assert your innocence and resolve the case without ruining your business or requiring that you spend time in jail or prison.

The thing you can do is act quickly. If you are under suspicion of SNAP violations, call our experienced lawyers today.