The federal government has gotten a new bill in its failed attempt to seize more than $1 million from a California woman, who says the money is her life savings earned over years as an exotic dancer.

A federal judge on Monday ordered the government to pay nearly $40,000 to cover Tara Mishra’s legal bills in the fight over the money, seized in a 2012 Nebraska traffic stop near North Platte.

An attorney for Mishra, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., says his client has already gotten a check for more than $1.07 million, plus interest. Now, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will pay her $39,035 to cover her legal fees.

Government lawyers had said the seized money was connected to illegal drugs, but a judge found that Mishra showed she had earned the money legally.