Nationwide SNAP Violation Lawyers

Springfield Snap Violation Lawyers

If you’re a retailer who accepts EBT at your grocery store, then you might have received a official notice from the USDA. The notice is probably a SNAP violation notice, which is stating you are in violation of the SNAP program. The USDA will attach a number of pages to the SNAP violation letter, and it will have records of transactions that occurred at your grocery store which the government is saying violates one or more categories of violations.

The first thing after you get a SNAP violation letter, you must speak to our our legal team. It’s critical you understand, you only have 10 days to respond. If you don’t respond, the government will suspend your stores privilege to accept EBT payments.

About The SNAP Program

The SNAP program helps families with money each month. These benefits are given with an EBT card. The funds on the card cannot be used for general usage, and they cannot be used for fraudulent cash back transactions. The cards took over for food stamps in the 1990’s and the card is issued in the state where the recipient lives. The program is operated on a nationwide level by the government.

The SNAP program and the benefits that come with it 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 legal violations happen when a grocery store violates any of the rules below.

The retail store took part inthe trafficking of SNAP benefits. Examples of this is fraudulently accepting the benefits, or theft of the benefits.

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

The store submitted false info on the grocery stores application to accept EBT benefits.

Your store redeemed more coupons than actual food sales during the same period.

The employees of the store have taken SNAP benefits from someone who shouldn’t be allowed to use the benefits.

How to defend your store against a SNAP violation

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

Sending the violation letter is the initial step which is taken by the USDA USDA to remove your right to take EBT benefits. This letter may come with, or without, prior warnings and can appear at any time. The charging letter contain details about alleged violations, but most letters will outline serious allegations, have evidence attached proving the violations. Your response to the SNAP violation letter is due within 10 days. Once you hire Spodek Law Group, our lawyers handle 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 SNAP violation letter, the USDA might still believe that a violation has occurred. If that happens, the USDA will 100% issue a second letter that specifically states the agencies decision to suspend or disqualify the store based on the accusations previously mentioned. Like before, you have 10 days to appeal the verdict. If you choose not to, you’ll be stuck with the USDA decision. Once you hire our lawyers, we file the appeal and notify them appeal the decision. We’ll gather necessary evidence, and our team will generate the necessary appeals briefs containing all of the legal laws, legal evidence, etc. which is needed to fix the outcome.

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

SNAP Violations

As a grocery store retailer, there’s a lot of rules and regulations which you have to adhere to for EBT. In most normal situations, many grocery store owners have no issues adhering to them. 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, SNAP recipients cant purchase electronic goods. If you violate the laws, you should expect getting a SNAP violation letter. Snap violation penalties can result in severe fines. If you conduct a serious SNAP violation, then you might end up with either a permanent or temporary disqualification. In many situations, owners of grocery stores didn’t know the violations were even occurring. Often, unethical employees who 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 charge letter is sent to your retail store, you only have 10 days to respond to the claims by the USDA. Failure to respond will permanently harm your store. In addition, the USDA will deliver a verdict even though you choose not to respond to the allegations. Without legal experience, you won’t be able to retain EBT benefits. Retaining a SNAP violation lawyer gives you the ability to fight for your rights. Our SNAP appeals lawyers can challenge the findings of the USDA and appeal any penalties. The fines imposed can be huge – to the tune of ten’s of thousands of dollars. The USDA purposefully does 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 at the time the allegations were filed.

The store owner must has to be able to prove the above mentioned policy was in place before the charge, and wasn’t drafted after the violation was made. The USDA will also look in order to check if the owners benefited from the violations, or were aware of the violation. 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. 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.