FINRA suspended former Piper Jaffray & Co. GSR and Viking Therapeutics COO Michael Dinerman of San Diego, California, fining him $10,000 for participating in an outside business activity without providing notice to or receiving authorization from Piper.
According to the findings and his Viking Therapeutics profile, Dinerman served as both a general securities representative and medical research analyst with Piper beginning in 2009, specializing in pharmaceutical and medical device industry research.
In 2012, Dinerman, who is also a Medical Doctor (MD), became the Chief Operating Officer of the startup biotechnology company Viking Therapeutics and remained in that post for over a year without first notifying Piper of this third party activity. The findings state Dinerman also purchased shares of Viking in a private offering and purchased a convertible note without prior written notice to Piper.
Investigators found that Dinerman inaccurately answered a Piper questionnaire about outside business activities and his private securities purchase, which is a procedure put in place by FINRA and its member firms in part to best identify potential conflicts of interest and the harmful financial implications that may arise, including unsuitable recommendations or even fraud.
If you have invested with Michael Dinerman or with any broker, financial adviser or other securities professional whose failure to disclose an outside business activity has proven harmful to your investments through unsuitable recommendations or misleading solicitations that were not in your bests interests, please call The Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans & Associates at (800) 699-1881 for investigation and consultation.