McCollam

BACKGROUND

McCollam was employed by Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. (Royal Alliance) as a broker and registered representative with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Royal Alliance terminated

1 McCollam’s employment in August 2010. Ten years later, in February 2020, McCollam submitted a request to FINRA for arbitration of his claims against Royal Allegiance for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq. (RICO)) and FINRA Rule 2010, which requires members to observe high standards of commercial honor. McCollam alleged that during investigations FINRA conducted between 2010 and 2017, Royal Alliance attempted to avoid fines and sanctions by “fabricating” evidence to “frame[]” McCollam and make him the “scapegoat” for Royal Alliance’s wrongdoing. Royal Alliance agreed to submit to FINRA arbitration and asserted a counterclaim for breach of an indemnification contract. A panel of three independent arbitrators held prehearing conferences in 2020 and 2021 before conducting the arbitration hearing over multiple days in April 2022. On May 5, they issued a final award, which stated that after considering pleadings,…