COLUMBIA — Three South Carolina men accused of bilking investors out of millions of dollars shouldn’t be allowed to represent themselves at trial, federal prosecutors said Monday, asserting that the defendants would use the federal trial as a platform to challenge the government’s authority to try them.

The defendants apparently intend “to try to use the case as a forum to advance their anti-Government views,” instead of defending themselves based on the merits of the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Moore wrote in documents filed in federal court Monday. Moore asked a judge to hold a hearing on the issue.

Joseph Brunson, Tony Pough and Timothy McQueen, who have represented themselves since firing their legal counsel last year, face multiple federal charges, including money laundering and mail fraud.

Over the past year, federal judges have consistently shot down rambling motions from the defendants, including arguments that Brunson, Pough and McQueen aren’t actually the men listed in the indictments. Since his indictment, Brunson — who prosecutors say received mental treatment while in the Army — has been evaluated by psychologists at a federal prison facility. Moore wrote that the government is concerned he and his co-defendants will interrupt their own trial and stray from courtroom procedure.

Prosecutors have said the men promised their investors daily returns of up to 500 percent. Authorities said the trio — who named their investment plan the “3 Hebrew Boys” after a Bible tale about brothers who kept their faith in God and survived when they were thrown into a fiery furnace — recruited investors in churches and at military bases, with some soldiers fighting in Iraq sending the men checks as word of the plan spread.

All told, prosecutors say the men lured at least 7,000 investors from two dozen states, taking $80 million along the way. The three had told people that the money would be invested in foreign currency markets, but investigators have said less than $40,000 was actually invested — with the rest allegedly spent on luxury items for the three defendants.

A court-appointed receiver has said he collected more than $18 million in assets to return to investors if the men are found guilty.

A phone listing for Brunson could not be found, and there was no answer at listings for Pough and McQueen.

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On the Net:

Receiver’s Web site: http://www.3hbreceiver.com/

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