A little different from our usual posts. Regarding fraudulent vehicle registration fees. Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) was an overhaul of our state's antiquated vehicle registration data systems, amongst other things. MNLARS resulted in massive state-sponsored malfeasance or fraud. Yes, MNLARS resulted in fraud because the state KNEW of the many technical issues but did little to fix core issues and reimburse drivers who paid the price. Vehicle registration taxes are largely based on the "base value" and subsequent depreciation. There are other misc. taxes involved. In the MNLARS system, base values were not fully entered into the system so many MN DPS/DVS staff entered base values off of Google searches, KBB, or even guessing. Some staff would knowingly input false vehicle base values that would result in enormous registration fees for unknowing drivers. Other times, inexperienced staff would input vehicle mileages for the base value so a used Toyota RAV4 would have a base value of $120,500. Just imagine the registration fee for an error like that. MN DPS DVS would rely on Minnesotans to catch these errors and report it back to the agency for correction but most drivers are simply not savvy enough to check the calculation of their registration fees. In fact, DVS would blame drivers for not checking for errors on registration and outright refuse refunds to drivers who deserved a refund for overpaying on registration taxes. To date, this practice of over-valuing vehicle base values continues to this day and this amounts to state-sponsored fraud because DVS leaders know about this problem but it is too large to be addressed. Our advice to the public: Check how your vehicle registration fee is calculated.