Fridley, Minnesota, isn’t exactly the used-car capital of the world. But a small independent lot there just became a case study in what happens when a dealer runs out of tricks to hide. On August 31, Attorney General Keith Ellison announced that Midwest Car Search and owner Scott Spiczka agreed to pay $100,000 and permanently overhaul how they sell cars, settling a lawsuit Ellison filed back in April 2024.
That number is the least interesting part of this story.
Buried inside the settlement is a detail that matters more than the check: Midwest Car Search and Spiczka handed over financial records showing they don’t have the money to fully refund the customers the state says they deceived. The $100,000 isn’t a figure calculated from the harm done. According to the AG’s office, it’s the ceiling — the maximum the state could realistically collect from a business that told a court, in writing, that it’s broke…