THE RESPONSE · TEN DAYS FROM RECEIPT · 7 CFR 278.6(b)(1)
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THE RESPONSE

What records do I need to answer a SNAP charge letter?

7 CFR 278.6(b) · 278.6(i) SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C. · UPDATED
THE SHORT ANSWER
Four piles: the envelope and attachment, wholesale invoices for the review period, itemized register data for the flagged dates, and your dated compliance and training file. Almost all of it’s already in the store.
THE DEADLINE, EVERY TIME
10
DAYS FROM RECEIPT
7 CFR 278.6(b)(1)
FNS doesn’t grant extensions. In a trafficking case the civil money penalty request has to be inside that filing or 278.6(b)(2)(iii) forecloses it permanently.
WHO IS DEFENDING YOUR STORE
If you’re reading this, USDA is threatening your store and you need serious help - we get it. Spodek Law Group P.C. is second generation, practicing since 1976, and dramatized in Netflix’s Inventing Anna. We owe loyalty to only you.
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THE FIRM · WHY US

We owe loyalty to only you.

When you’re looking online, you have multiple options. There are so many firms advertising SNAP defense. Thankfully, your search is over. Spodek Law Group P.C. offers premier white-glove service and we’re unafraid of fighting. Unlike firms that are more focused on their relationship with the agency than with you, we owe loyalty to only YOU. Your store, your family, your license.

One reason our firm has such a high success rate is that we’re selective about who we work with. If we’re choosing to work with you, it’s because we think we can make a positive impact. That’s vastly different from firms that take on any client willing to pay. When you reach out, you start with a risk-free consultation - and you can ask us anything you want, regardless of how long it takes.

If there’s a way to keep your store in the program, we’ll find it. That’s the whole job.

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THE SIMPLE BELIEF
We should only take on clients we can actually help.
01 · A PERSON ANSWERS
Not a service, not a call center. Day or night, an attorney picks up - and strategy starts the day you call.
02 · TRANSPARENT FEES
We’re transparent about what this costs. There are no surprises, and we’re committed to fighting for your case irrespective of your ability to pay.
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One of the few firms with a fully online client portal - every filing, invoice and document, from day one, wherever your store is.
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IN BRIEF
THE FOUR PILES
7 CFR 278.6(b)
RETAILER DEFENSE
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A response isn’t a letter saying you did nothing wrong. It’s a rebuilt record, and the raw material is ordinary business paperwork most owners already have and never think to produce.

The envelope and the attachment

Keep the envelope - the certified mail record fixes the receipt date, and the receipt date fixes your ten days. Then read every page of the transaction attachment, because each flagged line is a question about a specific date and amount that needs a specific answer.

Purchases and sales

Wholesale invoices for every supplier across the review period, cash-and-carry receipts included, show the food existed to sell. Itemized register data - POS exports, Z-tapes, receipt detail - shows what was actually in the basket. FNS works from dollar amounts; a basket list against an amount is the most persuasive document in these cases.

The compliance file

Written store rules in any language, signed and dated training acknowledgements, photographs of register signage, the employee handbook, schedules for the flagged shifts, and any write-up or termination. Where trafficking is charged this file is the substance of the four criteria at 278.6(i) - and Criterion 2 turns entirely on what predates the flagged dates.

START WITH DATES
Anything dated before the flagged period is worth more than any argument.
BASKETS BEAT AMOUNTS
Itemized sales answer the inference that money moved without food.
NOTHING IS TOO SMALL
One page of store rules in a drawer can carry Criterion 1.
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FREE DEADLINE CHECK
Tell us the date on the envelope. We’ll tell you what day you’re on.
Risk-free, no obligation, answered the same day. A person answers - not a service.
THE BENCH

This bench answers its own phone. Put it on your case.

Second generation, practicing since 1976. Your case isn’t handed to a paralegal and a template - a lawyer reads the attachment, calls your wholesaler, and drafts the response. Every client holds the senior partner’s cell number.
Spodek Law Group - the team
SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C. · NEW YORK
Todd Spodek
Todd Spodek
MANAGING PARTNER
Ralph Franco
Ralph Franco
SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C.
Jeremy Feigenbaum
Jeremy Feigenbaum
SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C.
Claire Banks
Claire Banks
SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C.
Alex Zhik
Alex Zhik
SPODEK LAW GROUP P.C.
SEND THE LETTER TO COUNSEL

Tell us what happened. Eight fields, two minutes - and a lawyer reads it today.

RISK FREE · CONFIDENTIAL · ANSWERED WITHIN 24 HOURS, GUARANTEED
Counsel reading a client file
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
Today. A lawyer reads the letter and fixes your real deadline from the receipt date. You’ll know where you stand before we hang up.
Day one. If trafficking is charged, the written penalty request goes in immediately.
Days two to nine. Invoices, register data, inventory and the compliance file get assembled.
Before day ten. The response is filed, transaction by transaction, with exhibits.
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THE ASK

Read us the first line of the letter. We’ll tell you what day you’re on.

Bring the envelope, the attachment, and your invoices if you have them. If you don’t have them, bring the letter. The consultation is risk-free, it stays between us, and it happens today - ask us anything, regardless of how long it takes.

Call 212 300 5196
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THE RULES BEHIND THIS ANSWER
Ten days from receipt. No extensions, for any reason. The CMP request must be in that first filing. A clerk’s conduct is attributed to the store. Unanswered transactions read as conceded. Ten more days to seek review after a determination.
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