Viet Market Wins Round Against State; New Hearing on Voucher Funds Ordered

A small Vietnamese market Thursday won a round in the three-year battle with state health regulators who say the market overcharged a program that helps low-income mothers.

The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana ordered a new hearing into allegations against Cali Market, 9792 Westminster Ave., Garden Grove.

Auditors for the state Department of Health Services said the market improperly collected $150,000 in reimbursements from the federal program, called the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children. Under that program, pregnant women and new mothers may receive vouchers to buy nutritional food. The merchant is then reimbursed by the state, which administers the federal program.

Market operators failed to provide records showing they had purchased enough program-approved inventories to justify the sum, according to state auditors.

The allegations were confirmed at a health services hearing conducted by an unqualfied official, according to the opinion. No testimony was taken under oath and lawyers for the market were not allowed to question witnesses.

The hearing should have conformed to the state Administrative Procedure Act, which requires that a lawyer preside, according to the opinion.

The hearing was “grossly unfair,” according to market attorney Carl W. Greifzu.

Greifzu said the records and receipts were lost in a burglary at the market two months before the audit.

The opinion, written by Justice Sheila Prell Sonenshine, ordered the department to conduct a new hearing.