The courts giveth, and the courts taketh away.

On Friday news broke that the FBI had arrested Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson on allegations of wire fraud and that the court assigned her a lawyer from the federal public defender program.

On Monday, the Herald explained how Fernandes Anderson might qualify for the program — as 90% of federal defendants apparently do — despite the fact she’s paid six-figures for her role representing Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and parts of the South End. The programs rules stipulate that the court should err on the side of defandants and make sure they have an attorney,  adding that “erroneous determinations of eligibility may be corrected at a later time.”

On Tuesday, Chief Magistrate Judge Donald Cabell entered an order for Fernandes Anderson to pony up $5,000 by January 31 to cover the cost of her defense by attorney Scott Lauer, her assigned public counsel.

“The court finds that funds are available from or on behalf of (Fernandes Anderson) for payment of compensation and expenses of court-appointed counsel and/or for other services necessary for adequate representation,” Judge Cabell’s order reads, in part.

Fernandes Anderson is, according to the court, “therefore financially able to obtain counsel or to make partial payment for representation.”

Fernandes Anderson, 45, faces five counts of aiding and abetting wire fraud and one count of aiding and abetting theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, according to charging documents.

The second-term city councilor was arraigned in Boston last Friday afternoon, when she pleaded “not guilty” to all charges. So far, she has resisted calls from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and other members of the city council to step down.

Fernandes Anderson is alleged to have pocketed $7,000 from a $13,000 bonus she doled out to a relative she had hired in late 2022 as a paid member of her Council staff, according to the indictment.

Federal defendants are supposed to be provided help obtaining counsel if unable to afford it, which may well be the case with Fernandes Anderson. Included in the indictment detailing her alleged crimes, prosecutors noted at that time she was “facing personal financial difficulty.”

“Which included missing monthly rent and car payments, an impending $5,000 civil liability from the Ethics Commission, and incurring bank overdraft fees, which resulted from Fernandes Anderson maintaining low daily bank balances,” they wrote.