CHEYENNE - A federal judge on Thursday ordered the owner of a Nevada brothel who's charged with possessing and transporting child pornography in Wyoming to turn over financial information in the next two weeks.

Judge Alan B. Johnson ordered David Burgess, 55, to turn over materials describing his business assets and liabilities. Burgess owns the Old Bridge Ranch, a legal brothel east of Reno, Nev.

Johnson's order came in response to a challenge from federal prosecutor Jim Anderson. Anderson has questioned whether Burgess is entitled to be represented by a federal public defender.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol arrested Burgess last July after a trooper stopped a Freightliner motor home in which Burgess was a passenger east of Evanston.

According to a statement issued by the Highway Patrol, both the driver and Burgess told police they were members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang and were traveling to the 2007 Hells Angels USA Run in Eureka Springs, Ark.

Prosecutor Anderson has said in court that a search of a laptop computer found in the motor home determined it was "chock full" of child pornography. If convicted of the federal charges, Burgess could face up to 30 years in prison.

A federal grand jury indicted Burgess in November on the child pornography charges, and he was arrested in Nevada. A magistrate in Nevada appointed the federal public defender's office to represent him.

Court records also allege that officers found 14.9 grams of cocaine in the motor home. State drug charges were filed against Burgess in Wyoming but have been dismissed. A state prosecutor has said he dismissed the drug charges because they might have complicated the federal child pornography prosecution.

Anderson recently asked Johnson to review whether it's appropriate for Burgess to get his legal defense at taxpayer expense.

In court Thursday, Anderson said Burgess has said he's the owner of a business worth approximately $5 million, with liabilities of about $2 million.

Although Anderson said he had received information that Burgess has some tax problems, he said, "The public defender should only be appointed for truly needy individuals."

James Barrett, the assistant federal public defender representing Burgess, told Johnson that Burgess doesn't own the ranch property, but has 10 years remaining on a 30-year lease.

Barrett said Burgess has been in a "running gun battle" with the Internal Revenue Service since the late 1990s. He said Burgess couldn't refinance his own house to help to pay for his defense because the IRS would confiscate the money.

Barrett said the case against Burgess is beginning to involve issues in Nevada. Hiring a private lawyer to defend Burgess would likely require an initial retainer of $50,000, which wouldn't cover the cost of going to trial, Barrett said.