The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has barred a former LPL Financial broker from Lakeland, Florida, after he refused to hand over records the regulator sought in an investigation, according to AdvisorHub and Financial Advisor IQ. The inquiry concerned a customer complaint about an alleged investment made outside the firm.
AdvisorHub named the broker as Buddy Dean Mason and reported that he accepted the bar without admitting or denying Finra's findings. According to AdvisorHub, the bar stems from his refusal to cooperate, which breached Finra Rule 8210. Finra did not make any determination about the underlying allegations concerning the investment.
AdvisorHub described how the matter unfolded. In May, a customer complained that Mason had steered them toward an investment outside LPL that lost money. LPL then reported a client complaint to Finra in June, and that report prompted the investigation. Finra sent Mason requests for information and documents in July and August. In September, AdvisorHub reported, he confirmed he had received the requests but said he would not supply the material.
Mason voluntarily resigned from LPL in January, AdvisorHub reported. He is no longer registered as a broker or an investment adviser.
AdvisorHub, citing BrokerCheck, reported that two customers had lodged complaints over alleged investments outside LPL, and that the two were resolved for about $140,000 in total. The first was filed in December and accused Mason of selling away. It was resolved in March with a payment of $129,500, against a claimed amount of $175,000. The second was the May complaint, which sought $100,000 and was resolved in June for $10,000 on similar allegations. AdvisorHub reported that Mason contributed nothing toward either payment.
BrokerCheck also shows that Mason has been involved since 2023 with a restaurant franchise business called Burgeon Enterprises LLC, AdvisorHub reported. The record characterizes that work as not investment related, and AdvisorHub noted that nothing suggests it had any link to Finra's investigation.
AdvisorHub added that Finra is in the closing stages of a broad overhaul of its rules on outside business activities and private securities transactions.
For background, Wikipedia says LPL Financial Holdings was formed in 1989 through the merger of Linsco and Private Ledger and is based in San Diego. The same source describes it as the largest independent broker-dealer in the United States, with more than 32,000 advisors as of 2026.