More than 16 months ago, federal agents found William Thomas Warren hiding in a crawl space in the basement of his Troutville home. Upstairs in his office was a sketch pad detailing plans for escape.

Warren is scheduled to stand trial today in federal court in Roanoke, despite a last-ditch effort to fire his court-appointed attorneys. He faces more than 20 charges, including mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud. Prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of more than $20 million that they say Warren scammed from investors around the United States.

The trial is expected to feature some of the more than 140 investors - some from Bedford County and the Roanoke Valley - whom federal authorities say Warren cheated. It is scheduled to last up to six weeks.

Federal authorities say that Warren, now 53, targeted people at churches and religious organizations around the country, holding himself out as a "financial pastor." He also ran a Web site called "Excellentlife.org," which said he "has a deep burden to see people use their income, assets and resources wisely, and achieve victory and godliness in their finances," according to court documents filed in the case.

Warren got people to invest their life savings with him, promising rates of return of up to 40 percent, according to the indictment. Instead, Warren was running a Ponzi scheme, prosecutors say. They say that he paid investors who had been with him longer with money he received from new investors. He also used investors' funds for personal expenses, according to the indictment.

People whom prosecutors say Warren scammed include Rick Via and Tony Price, who have been known in the area for their ministries. Some of the investors are from Rainbow Forest Baptist Church in Troutville and Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke County, according to prosecutor Jennie Waering.

Other alleged victims of Warren's are from Alabama, Nevada, and Washington state, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say Warren's scheme dated back to the 1980s, when he lived in Washington.

Warren has been in federal custody at Roanoke City Jail since he was arrested in January 2004 and deemed a flight risk. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. One of his attorneys, Brad Bradford of Roanoke, did not return a call for comment.

Since his arrest, Warren has undergone a competency evaluation, but U.S. District Judge Glen Conrad has found him competent to stand trial. Warren argued during that hearing that he was too depressed to stand trial after receiving divorce papers from his wife.

On Friday, Warren alerted the court that he wanted to replace his attorneys. At a hearing Monday, Bradford, who is representing Warren with Roanoke attorney James Cargill, said he was so deeply offended at Warren's letter that he did not think he could represent him. (Bradford also said he had devoted hundreds of hours to the case).

Warren told Conrad that the competency hearing was not his idea, and that his attorneys had not come to see him enough and had not talked about a defense strategy with him.

"The next 20 years of my life is on the line here," Warren argued.

But prosecutor Waering argued that Warren's attempt to get new attorneys on the eve of trial was a transparent effort to get the trial postponed.

"Mr. Warren is a prolific liar," she argued.

Waering also said she thought that Warren had the mistaken impression he might get a better offer of a plea agreement with other attorneys.

Conrad ruled that he would not appoint new attorneys for Warren or postpone the trial. He pointed out that the defense attorneys in the case have been successful in several of the arguments they made before trial on Warren's behalf, including securing the appointment of a forensic accountant.

"Just because you don't see them every day doesn't mean a lot of time isn't being devoted to your case," Conrad told Warren.

He also said that it's very common for defendants and attorneys in a case to find they don't get along. And he pointed out that the U.S. Constitution doesn't require that defendants and attorneys be friends, only that attorneys provide adequate representation.

The trial is scheduled to begin with jury selection at 9 a.m.