NORWAY — The Oxford County District Attorney’s office is reviewing a fraud case involving water dumping and should decide this week whether or not to prosecute the suspects accused of committing the crime.

Norway police detective Gary Hill finished putting together his case in the middle of March. It focuses on residents suspected of purchasing cases of water with their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits (formerly known as food stamps), dumping out the water and bringing back the bottles to get the 5-cent return in cash.

The detective’s goal is to charge the suspects with misuse of a public benefits instrument, trafficking in benefits and theft by deception, all misdemeanors. Hill wants to capitalize on tougher U.S. Department of Agriculture rules that were expanded in May 2013 to widen the definition of trafficking in benefits, which includes water dumping.

The case was sent to the DA’s office for review on April 5, police Chief Rob Federico said in an email. It was assigned to Assistant District Attorney Joseph O’Connor.

“Initially, he refused to prosecute the case,” Federico wrote. “The Attorney General’s Office was contacted by (the Department of Health and Human Services) Fraud (unit) and were told to have us resubmit it to our district attorney again for review.”

Lisa Mack of the DA’s office said O’Connor didn’t want to comment on the case until a decision was made.

“We have received the report, it is under review,” she said last week. “We should be making a determination in the middle to the end of next week if charges are being brought forth.”