Was this planned to buy time?

I'm trying to wrap my mind around the sleezy lawyer now representing jfelon. When he wanted a court appointed attorney was he simply grifting? I wonder if there is a penalty for claiming you can't afford an attorney when in reality you can. Of course it is possible that the lawyer took him on pro-bono; (although do the sleeziest of lawyers do pro-bono cases?). Was this lawyer set up to represent jfelon all along but it was kept on the down low in an effort to have the hearing delayed; hence the reason he appeared at the 11th hour? All this makes my brain hurt. What do y'all think is actually going on.