Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Phoenix Snap Violation Attorneys

Each year in the United States, thousands of store owners are sanctioned, fined and even imprisoned as a result of SNAP program violations. Unlike most other areas of the law, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program rules and regulations are handled and enforced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its Food and Nutritional Services arm. This can be deceiving for store owners, who often do not recognize the seriousness of actions being taken against them until it’s too late.

It is critical to understand that anytime you receive a letter from the USDA pertaining to allegation of SNAP violations, your business is facing the exclusion from the program and you yourself may be facing anything from hundred-dollar fines all the way up to 25 years in prison.

The most important thing you can possibly do, should you find yourself the target of a USDA investigation regarding SNAP program violations, is to get in touch with a competent and experienced lawyer in the area of food assistance law. With the right lawyer fighting on your side, you can turn a truly devastating situation into something manageable.

The dire consequences of USDA action against store owners

The area of law surrounding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is one of the most unique and challenging areas of legal practice. It is unique in many ways. One of the ways in which SNAP violations markedly differ from other types of criminal and civil action is that all of the violations are investigated and even many proceedings carried out by the Food and Nutrition Service, a special arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that is tasked with managing and enforcing the rules of the SNAP program.

As a result, owners of SNAP-eligible retail convenience and grocery stores who find themselves the target of an FNS investigation are often surprised to learn that the burden of proof is always on the accused. In practice, this means that, should you find yourself under FNS scrutiny, it is up to you to comply with all of the requests made of you. Failure to comply with any FNS request will typically result in a minimum of a temporary exclusion from the SNAP program. For many store owners, particularly those operating in urban areas, this is all but a death-knell of their business. Many convenience and grocery stores throughout the United States rely on SNAP-based transactions for well over a quarter of their total business. Losing this business often results in quickly forcing the store to close.

For this reason, it is imperative to get a competent lawyer on your side, the moment that you receive a letter from the USDA alleging violations of the SNAP program. An experienced and knowledgeable lawyer can ensure that the chances of a favorable outcome are maximized. And they can avoid the mistakes and pitfalls that so many store owners fall into when dealing with FNS investigations.

You are legally responsible for your employees

One of the most common themes that we see in clients who are under investigation and facing penalties from the USDA regarding SNAP-related violations is owners dismayed by the fact that they and their stores are being punished for the actions of rogue or poorly trained employees. Although their frustration is understandable, under SNAP guidelines, the store owners and their businesses are responsible for all actions that employees take.

In the most serious cases, this can leave store owners facing the penalties for employees that have engaged in trafficking SNAP benefits. This not only means that a store owner may be facing being permanently excluded from the program. It can even mean that they are being threatened with prison time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and restitution.

The good news is that these cases can often be resolved favorably, with the help of good legal counsel. In cases where a store owner is genuinely innocent of any wrongdoing, the owner may often be allowed to stay in the program, being forced only to pay a moderate fine and given a warning. But if a store owner is accused of such a serious violation of SNAP rules, it is absolutely crucial that they get in touch with a competent lawyer.