The New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau reports that telemarketers kept on average 62 cents of every dollar they raised in New York in 2012, leaving 38 cents for the charities themselves.

The bureau report shows for-profit telemarketers operating in the state kept more than $154 million out of $249 million that was intended to help those in need.

Following a similar report last year, the Attorney General’s Office says it subpoenaed records and launched investigations and shut down three charities and one fundraiser.

In 459 of the 589 campaigns in the report, the charities retained less than half the funds raised.

(AP)