On January 31, a Keyport, New Jersey man pled guilty to playing a role in a gambling conspiracy. He was forced to forfeit $80,000 as part of his plea.

According to documents filed by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito, from January 2011 to October 2017, John Dougherty conspired with an unnamed resident of New Jersey to carry out a business enterprise that violated New Jersey gambling laws. Sports betting did not become legal in the state until June 2018.

According to the complaint, while working with an unnamed man, he also had formed his own group of bettors. The two offered a website where sports betting was conducted, including individuals being able to establish their own usernames and passwords.

Carpenito explained that Dougherty, 55, used money he received from the unknown resident to pay users who were winners. He also collected money from users, and the two would meet regularly to divide up the revenue that they had made.