Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Rocky Mount Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your retail store, then it’s possible have been the recipient of a a letter from the USDA. This notification is probably a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you violated the SNAP program. The USDA will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation notice, and it will have records of transactions which happened at your retail store that the government claims is in violation of one or more groups of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation letter, you should speak to our our law firm. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you don’t respond, the USDA will terminate/suspend your stores ability to accept EBT.

About The Program

This program helps families with money each month. These benefits are distributed to consumers via an EBT card. The funds on this card cannot be used for general use, and they can’t be used for fraudulent cash back services. The cards took the place of food stamps in the 1990’s and are issued by each state individually which the SNAP participant lives. This program is operated on a nationwide level by the government.

The SNAP program and the benefits that come with it are governed by the US 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 if and when a grocery store is in violation of the following rules.

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

Your grocery store took SNAP funds in exchange for nonfood items like alcohol, tobacco, or other goods.

Your store submitted false info on the store’s application to accept EBT benefits.

The grocery store redeemed more EBT food stamps than sale of actual food at the same time.

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

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

Sending the violation letter is the first step taken by the USDA to remove your EBT license. The letter can come with no warning and can happen at any time. The violation letter has a variety of allegations, but most of them will mention violations, and have attached documents detailing the violations. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. Once you hire our law firm, 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 SNAP violation letter, the USDA might still believe that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will issue another letter that outlines their decision to suspend or disqualify the store based on the alleged violations. Like before, you have ten days to protest the verdict. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. After you hire our lawyers, we’ll file the necessary paperwork to notify the government appeal the decision. Our lawyers gather necessary evidence, and we will draft generate an appellate brief containing all of the legal laws, evidence, etc. which is needed to change the outcome of the violations.

If the USDA refuses to overturn the decision, in the Administrative Review, we will file a Judicial review at the local Federal District Court. This process is like a normal federal court case, where you’ll have to do standard processes like discovery, file motions, and have a trial. Our attorneys 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 limitations. For example, people getting SNAP benefits cant buy electronic goods. If you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can include fines and penalties. If it’s believed you did a major SNAP violation, then you may end up with a temporary or permanent disqualification. In many situations, store owners don’t know SNAP violations are even occurring. Often, it’s dishonest employees are misusing the SNAP program. If you’re accused of a SNAP violation to consult with a SNAP violation appeals lawyer to ensure sure you don’t have your benefits revoked.

When a SNAP violation letter is delivered to your store, you only have ten days to respond to the claims. Failure to respond to the violations will permanently crush your store. If you don’t respond the USDA will generate a verdict even if you choose not to 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 discredit the decision of the USDA and appeal any penalties. The penalties imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully imposes large fines to in order to curb future violations. The USDA will typically look to see if you have a compliance policy in place. It must be in writing and in effect when the violations were filed.

The grocery store also be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and was not drafted after the violation letter. The USDA typically also looks in order to see if the retail store owners benefited in any way from the fraud, or if the business owners were aware of the fraud. Any involvement of the management can lead to disqualification.

It’s highly recommended any 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.