A kosher grocery in Rockland County claims that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack is discriminating against Jewish stores.
New Mottys Supermarket, of Monsey, accused Vilsack of violating its civil rights, in a complaint filed April 8 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.
The Department of Agriculture uses Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program criteria that “disproportionally target retailers serving minority and immigrant communities such as the Jewish community in Monsey,” the complaint states, “because their communities’ shopping habits and household demographics do not conform to what the agency believes the average SNAP household’s habits and composition are.”
Department of Agriculture spokesperson Matthew Spata said in an email that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
New Mottys was formed in March 2021 by Abraham Klein and is also owned and operated by Mordechai Klein. They depict their store as a large, well-equipped market that is “exceptionally well provisioned,” and is one of only two large kosher markets in the area.
SNAP replaced the food stamps program, providing food staples for low-income households. Participants use an Electronic Benefits Transfer card, like a debit card, to pay for the foods.
New Mottys was approved for participating in the program and for accepting EBT payments.
“EBT sales have become a substantial portion of the store’s gross revenue,” the complaint states, “accounting for a substantial portion of all sales for the business.”
On Jan. 31, the Department of Agriculture charged Mottys with trafficking in SNAP benefits from April 2023 to September 2023. An analysis of the store’s characteristics, food stock and pricing had revealed “clear and repetitive patterns of unusual, irregular and inexplicable activity,” according to a notification letter.
The letter referred to several types of trafficking violations in which EBT cards or SNAP benefits are used to obtain ineligible products such as firearms and cash.
If the charges are upheld, the letter stated, New Mottys could be disqualified from the food assistance program, penalized for up to $59,000, and charged in civil or criminal actions.
New Mottys claims that Anthony Pesini, the Department of Agriculture official who wrote the letter and who is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not identify the specific regulation that the store allegedly violated.
He also acted as both fact-finder and enforcer, according to the Kleins, thus creating a conflicting dual role. And he allegedly cherry picked information to make invalid comparisons to other stores.
The agency does not have to produce some evidence in the early stages of a case, according to the complaint, such as the name of the comparison store or the methods used to analyze data.
New Mottys submitted a response to the charging letter on March 12, including a 59 page legal brief, affidavits and hundreds of pages of data.
On March 19, four business days later, Pesini permanently disqualified New Mottys and stopped its participation in the food program.
The basis for the decision was not disclosed, according to the complaint, and the quick response shows that Pesini could not have evaluated the retailer’s voluminous response.
New Motty’s says it has asked for an administrative review, but in the meantime it is incurring financial losses.
The Kleins claim that Vilsack and Pesini violated their equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution by using criteria that single out ethnic and religious minorities, and violated due process rights by withholding evidence.
They are demanding that the agency stop using invalid criteria for disqualifying stores from the food program and pay New Mottys unspecified damages.
They are represented by Florida attorney Andrew Z. Tapp.
Let’s see the evidence. I don’t want my tax dollars stifling religion. I also don’t want a religion abusing the privilege our tax dollars provide.