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80 CONNECTICUT Jury Convicts Nomura Trader on Conspiracy Charge A former executive at Nomura, a financial holding company based in Japan, was found guilty of conspiracy in June by a Connecti- cut jury. e defendant, Michael Gramins, allegedly added secret commission fees onto mortgage-backed security transactions he handled between 2009 and 2013, according to the verdict. Gramins wasn't the only party involved— though he was the single person charged. e state's case also named Nomura's Ross Shapiro and Tyler Peters in the suit, which alleges the three defendants illegally added to their profit margins when handling RMBS transactions for their employer. Specifically, the suit claims the trio made "secret and unearned compensation" off cus- tomers—particularly Alliance Bernstein LP and Hartford Investment Management Co. e state's Attorney General office filed the case back in September 2015. While at Nomura, Gramins and Peters served as executive directors, while Shapiro was a managing director. During this time, Shapiro's attorney told the jury, "margin pad- ding" was common practice. He also argued that the customers in question would have purchased the bonds regardless of the added fee. In addition to one conspiracy charge each, Gramins, Peters, and Shapiro were also charged with two counts of securities fraud and six counts of wire fraud. e jury was hung on the one conspiracy count against Shapiro, as well as two fraud counts against Gramins. A mistrial was declared on all three hung counts. On all the remaining counts, the jury found the defendants not guilty, and Peters was acquitted of all charges against him. Law360 talked to Marc Mukasey, Gramins' attorney, about the case. "e government failed to convict Mike on eight of nine counts, including six counts on which he was outright acquitted," Mukasey told Law360. "In light of these results, we are eager to argue the posttrial motions on the lone count of conviction." e Connecticut Attorney General's office is currently pursuing a similar case against David Demos, a former trader for Can- tor Fitzgerald, a capital market investments brokerage. Two other Nomura employees were also named in a suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in May. NEW YORK New York Market Mirrors Nation's A new report from the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR) showed that housing trends in the Empire State are a microcosm of the U.S. market. NYSAR's April housing market numbers showed strong buyer demand and an ongoing decline in the number of homes for sale. is dynamic fueled a 7.8 percent increase in the April statewide median sales price (to $235,000) and an 11.2 percent drop in new listings compared to a year ago, according to the report. In real numbers, that's a drop from just over 22,000 new listings to just above 19,600. ere were 18 percent fewer homes for sale in New York compared to last April (about 65,000 compared to about 80,000 in 2016). Inventory constraints also led to a 5 percent decline in home sales for the month compared to last year. New Jersey Lisa G Lopez Broker of Record Home Alliance Realty 142 E. Bay Ave Manahawkin, NJ 08050 609-978-9009 (o) 609-384-5109 (c) lglopez@verizon.net www.HomeAllianceRealty.com www.LisaLopezProperties.com New York REDUCING TIMELINES THROUGH EXPERIENCE. Providing Default Real Estate Solutions Since 1988. Todd Yovino Broker/Owner Island Advantage Realty, LLC Serving Metro New York & Long Island Todd@iarny.com | 631-820-3400 www.islandadvantage.com Connecticut Planet Realty, LLC Sales@CTREOTEAM.com 203-982-4985 cell www.CTREOTEAM.com Security • Preservation • Disposition Steve Rivkin