Lincoln SNAP Violation Attorneys.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is among the oldest and most successful social welfare programs specifically aimed at anti-poverty measures in the United States. The program can trace its origins all the way back to the late 1930s. Under the Roosevelt Administration, the first programs aimed at eliminating hunger across the nation were introduced. But it wasn't until 1964, under the aegis of Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty initiative, that the modern incarnation of the SNAP program first took shape.

Today, the SNAP program is the nation's flagship anti-poverty measure. With more than 40 million Americans receiving some form of food assistance through the program, it has been able to nearly completely eliminate hunger, especially that experienced by the nation's most vulnerable children.

But for much of the program's existence, fraud and abuse were a key concern. It has been estimated that in the first decade of SNAP's existence, up to 10 cents of every taxpayer dollar spent on the program was diverted by fraud and abuse. Today, that figure has been dramatically reduced. It is now widely acknowledged by experts that only around 1 cent of every dollar is consumed by fraud within the SNAP program.

This dramatic reduction in the amount of fraud related to the nation's leading anti-poverty program has been of huge benefit to both the taxpayer and the beneficiaries of the SNAP entitlements. However, it is also caused a huge increase in false positives, unfairly targeting many business owners who had no intention of violating the rules or committing fraud. Unfortunately, many of these store owners are not quick enough to recognize the severity of being targeted in a SNAP abuse investigation, leading to severe consequences from which they may not be able to recover.

It is, therefore, extremely important that any time a store owner comes under scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the main government agency tasked with administration and oversight of the SNAP program, that they hire a competent and experienced attorney in the area of food stamp fraud. If you are a store owner and you have received a letter from the USDA accusing you of taking part in violations of the SNAP regulations, the best move you can possibly make is to get a competent lawyer on your side as early in the process as possible.

A USDA letter alleging violations must be taken seriously

The laws and body of regulations surrounding the SNAP program are quite different from other areas of legal practice. This is partially due to the fact that the main body of enforcement is a civilian government agency. The USDA is charged with investigating all violations of SNAP regulations and laws. This can be deceiving for business owners who become the targets of SNAP violation investigations. These business owners may be slow to recognize the seriousness of the process, often mistaking official USDA correspondence regarding serious charges as unimportant or even junk mail.

Another major difference in this area of the law is that the burden of proof is almost always on the accused. All that the USDA needs to do to start the process towards stripping a business of its right to accept EBT transactions is to merely accuse the owner of wrongdoing. At that point, it is entirely up to the owner to prove that they have not engaged in any untoward activity.

The potential consequences for not convincing USDA investigators of one's innocence are often severe. The most benign penalties often include the temporary exclusion of a business from the SNAP program. For many small convenience stores, especially those operating in urban settings, this can be absolutely devastating to business, with many stores relying on a quarter or more of their total revenues from SNAP recipients. Some of the harsher penalties may include up to 25 years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution and fines.

For these reasons, the sooner that you can get an experienced lawyer on your side, the better your chances of having a favorable outcome in your SNAP violation case will be.

Our law firm has decades of experience in SNAP-related cases. If you are accused of SNAP-related fraud, give us a call today.

Facing a SNAP charge letter or disqualification? Start with our full guide: USDA SNAP Violation Lawyers for Retail Stores, or call 212-300-5196 for an attorney, 24/7.