Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Pine Bluff Snap Violation Lawyers

If you accept EBT at your grocery store, then it’s possible have gotten a official notice from the USDA. The letter is probably a SNAP violation letter, which is claiming you have violated the SNAP program. The government will include proof to the SNAP violation letter, and it will have transactions which occurred at your retail store that the government claims violates one or more groups of violations.

After you get a SNAP violation notice, you must speak to our our law firm. Remember, you have only ten days to respond to the letter. If you choose to ignore, the USDA will suspend your stores ability to accept EBT.

About The Program

This program helps families with money each month. The SNAP program benefits are distributed to consumers with an EBT card. The benefits on the card cannot be used for general use, and they can’t be used for cash back services. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and the card is issued in the state where the consumer lives. The program is operated on a nationwide level by the federal government.

The SNAP government and the benefits that come with it are under handled by the US 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 when a grocery store is in violation of the following rules.

The grocery store was involved inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. This can mean fraudulently accepting benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

Your store submitted false information on your store’s application to accept EBT benefits.

The store redeemed more coupons than sale of actual food at the same time.

Your employees accepted SNAP benefits from someone who shouldn’t be allowed to use the benefits.

How we can help defend you against a SNAP violation notice

Our law firm has immense experience handling SNAP violations letters. Our law firm can handle your SNAP Violation appeal in all 3 phases of a SNAP Violation action.

The charging letter is the initial step which is going to be taken by USDA to take away your right to take EBT benefits. This letter may come with no warning and can appear at any time. The charging letter contain details about alleged violations, but most letters will outline violations, with an attachment of details. You have only 10 days to respond. After you hire Spodek Law Group, we handle all of the communicationswith the USDA and for compiling all the necessary evidence, and drafting a response to the USDA.

After reviewing the store’s answer to the notice of violation, the USDA may still believe that your store has violated the rules. If this happens, the USDA will issue another letter which specifically states the agencies decision to suspend or disqualify the store based on the allegations set forth. You have 10 days to appeal this. If you don’t, then you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our firm, we’ll file the necessary paperwork to notify them appeal the decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and our team will generate the necessary appeals briefs containing all of the case law, legal evidence, etc. which is needed to overturn the decision.

If the USDA refuses to overturn the binding decision, in the Administrative Review, we’ll file a Judicial review at the local Federal Court. This process is like a normal federal court case, where you’ll be able to do discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our lawyers can handle these cases in all 50 states.

SNAP Violations

As a food store retailer, there’s a lot of rules and regulations have to obey in order to accept EBT. In most cases, many grocery store owners don’t run into problems. However, USDA’s 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’ll get a SNAP violation letter. Penalties of violating SNAP can result in fines, and penalties. If you conduct a serious SNAP violation, then you may end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In most cases, owners of grocery stores don’t even know the violations were even happening. Often, it’s dishonest employees who are misusing the SNAP program. It’s helpful to consult with a SNAP violation lawyer in order to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is presented to your store, you have only 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 deliver a verdict even though you don’t respond to the allegations. In the absence of a SNAP violation attorney, 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 appeal any decision. The financial penalties imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA on purpose does large fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA look to see if you have a store compliance policy. It must be in writing and in effect when the allegations were filed.

The retailer must be able to prove the compliance policy was in place before the charge, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA will also look to see if the grocery store owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or if the owners were aware of the fraud. Any involvement of the management can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any grocery store owner that receives a letter consult with a SNAP violation attorney. Failure can result 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.