If you're a grocery store owner - there are many business challenges you're facing. The last thing you want to deal with is being told by federal agencies that you violated SNAP laws. SNAP is run by the USDA, and they will send you a notice if they think you violated the laws governing SNAP.
If you're a business owner in SNAP, we can help you.
If this is your situation
Stop reading. Start defending.
You are required to respond to SNAP violation notices in 10 days. IF you don't do so, the USDA will suspend your store privileges to accept EBT payments. Most stores rely heavily on SNAP/EBT, and this could put you out of business. Even if your bottom line doesn't entirely depend on SNAP, any disturbance in your ability to accept EBT payments could destroy your business. You don't want to risk your business, by incurring sanctions by local/federal government agencies.
The moment you get a SNAP violation notice, you should speak to a criminal defense law firm. It's in your best interest to speak to a lawyer who specializes in helping clients who are accused of violation SNAP laws. The initial letter you get for your NJ SNAP violation, will contain a list of specific transactions that took place which violate the SNAP law. Below are examples of SNAP violations:
- Theft, or trafficking, of SNAP benefits
- Allowing someone to use EBT to purchase liquor, or banned goods
- Redeeming more EBT credits than you sold
- Accepting SNAP from someone not authorized to have them
You could be confused, and puzzled, on how this happened. Don't panic. Being suspected of doing something wrong doesn't mean you actually did something wrong. The SNAP program is one of the most needful programs which help low-income people feed their family. The EBT program replaced paper food stamps, and has been a more efficient way of meeting food stamp needs. SNAP regulations, however, aren't always clear.
One of the things you should do is train your store employees on how to deal with SNAP beneficiaries, and give lessons on what's not acceptable. It's difficult to meet all the demands of the USDA. You should keep in mind that every day grocers are accused by USDA/SNAP of illegal things - but that doesn't mean that SNAP/USDA win.
The Spodek Law Group P.C. is a top rated SNAP violation law firm. Our SNAP violation lawyers in New Jersey will answer the USDA's letter on your behalf. Our lawyers handle all messages between you and the USDA. We handle ALL negotiations, and discussions, with the USDA. Often, store clerks can make honest mistakes , and there's all kinds of misunderstanding possible with the EBT and SNAP benefits. For example, if your clerk sells non-ebt covered items, you could get sued.
That's where a NJ snap violation lawyer comes in hand. Our lawyers will answer the department's letters in a way that explains what happened, and maintains your innocence.
Once we respond to the USDA, they will review the answer and decide if they want to pursue your case. Our goal is for them to drop ALL allegations that are incorrect. Depending on what they decide, they could decide to send you a letter informing you of the decision to suspend your EBT privileges. They could also decide to suspend you for a few months. It all depends on what happens. If they decide to suspend your EBT privileges, our legal team will send a letter informing them of your intention to appeal the decision they came up with. Our attorneys gather all evidence, and carry out an appellate brief. If this doesn't work, we can take the USDA to trial and work to have the decision overturned by a federal judge.
Bottom line, if you own a convenience store in New Jersey - you should speak to our attorneys for ANY alleged snap violations.