Use of stolen plates – Penalty

(a) It is a Class C misdemeanor for any person to display upon a vehicle, for the purpose of indicating its registration, any license plate known by the user to have been stolen, or reported as lost or stolen in an application made to the department for a replacement plate, or issued as the replacement for a plate falsely reported to have been lost or stolen. (b) When any person is apprehended while operating an unregistered vehicle on which there is displayed a plate known to the owner or user as having been stolen, reported as lost or stolen, or issued as the replacement for a plate falsely reported to have been stolen, the registration fee for the vehicle shall be in a sum treble the amount of the annual registration fee provided in chapter 4 of this title.