SANTA FE (AP) The state Construction Industries Division has collected $324,981 in fines from unlicensed contractors so far this year, and officials expect the amount from contractors without licenses to top $500,000 by December.

“Contracting without a license is one of our top illegal activities in construction,” said Wayne Dotson, chief of the division’s investigations bureau.

The second most common problem is fraud, in which consumers pay in advance, then the construction isn’t done, he said.

The division in 2000 collected more than $403,000 after 161 consumer complaints, the largest amount of fines the state has ever assessed.