Two victims of Bernard L. Madoff’s huge Ponzi scheme sued the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, saying that the agency’s failure to detect the fraud years ago contributed to their financial losses.

Echoing complaints that other victims have made for months, the two plaintiffs argued in the lawsuit that they would not have fallen prey to the fraud if the government had “simply done its job” and if the commission had not “closed its eyes to Madoff’s obvious crimes.”

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, is aimed at forcing the commission to repay $2.4 million lost by the two plaintiffs  Phyllis Molchatsky, a disabled retiree, and Stephen Schneider, a doctor nearing retirement, both residents of New York. They had previously demanded compensation through administrative complaints to the commission, which have been denied.

“Based on our initial understanding, we believe there is no merit to the complaint,” said John Heine, a spokesman for the commission.