Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

North Richland Hills Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your retail store, then may have gotten a official notice from the USDA. The letter is probably a SNAP violation notice, which is claiming you violated the SNAP program. The USDA will include proof to the SNAP violation letter, which will contain records of transactions which occurred at your retail store which the government is saying is in violation of one or more groups of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation letter, you should contact our legal team. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you choose to ignore, the government will suspend your grocery store’s ability to accept EBT payments.

About The SNAP Program

The SNAP program provides families with funds to buy food each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed to consumers with an EBT card. The benefits on the EBT card cannot legally be used for general usage, and they cannot be used for cash back transactions. The EBT cards took the place of food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued by each state individually where the recipient lives. The SNAP program is run on a nationwide level by the federal government.

This program and it’s parameters 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 does it mean to have a SNAP violation

Snap violations occur if and when a retail store is in violation of the following rules.

The store took part intrafficking SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting taking the benefits, or stealing the benefits.

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

Your store submitted false info on the retail stores application to accept EBT benefits.

The grocery store took money for more EBT food stamps than actual food sales over the same period.

The employees of the store 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 immense experience managing SNAP violation letters. Our team of attorneys can handle your SNAP violation process in all phases of a SNAP action.

Sending the letter is the first step which is going to be taken by USDA to remove your right to take EBT benefits. The letter can come with, or without, prior warnings can come at any time. The charging letter has a variety of allegations, but most of them will mention serious allegations, and have attached documents detailing the violations. You have only 10 days to respond. 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 might still decide that a violation has occurred. If that happens, they’ll will definitely send a second letter that outlines their decision to suspend or disqualify the retail store based on the allegations set forth. Like before, you have ten days to protest this verdict. If you choose not to, then you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. After you hire our lawyers, our team the legal papers to notify the government we are going to appeal their decision. Our lawyers collect necessary evidence, and we will draft draft an appellate brief which contains all of the legal laws, evidence, etc. which is needed to fix the outcome.

If 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 court case, where you’ll be able to do 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 are many laws which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most cases, many retail store owners don’t run into problems. 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. 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 you conduct a serious violation, then you might end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In most cases, store owners didn’t know the violations are even occurring. Often, it’s dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to consult with a SNAP violation attorney in order to make sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a charge letter is sent to your retail store, you only have ten days to respond to the claims. Failure to respond will permanently harm your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will make a verdict even though you choose not to respond to the allegations. Without legal experience, you cannot defend your store. Hiring a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our lawyers will fight the decision of the USDA and fight any penalties. The financial penalties imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose imposes huge fines to curb violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. The policy has to be in writing at the store and in effect at the time the allegations were filed.

The retailer must has to be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA will also look to see if the retail store owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or if the owners were aware of the fraud. If the managers were involved, it can lead to disqualification.

We highly recommend any grocery 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.