SEC v. Western Sierra Resource Corporation; Roger Johnson; and Dennis Atkins, No. LR-26491, District of Colorado (Feb. 25, 2026) — Press Release
raw: Western Sierra Resource Corporation, Roger Johnson, and Dennis Atkins
Western Sierra Resource Corporation, Roger Johnson, and Dennis Atkins, No. 1:24-cv-01705 (Feb. 25, 2026)
summary
Western Sierra Resource Corporation and its executives, Roger Johnson and Dennis Atkins, obtained final judgments for falsely claiming a $10 million gold mining acquisition.
paragraph
Western Sierra, CEO Roger Johnson, and CFO Dennis Atkins were charged with making false statements regarding a $10 million acquisition of Nevada gold mining claims. The defendants consented to judgments for violating antifraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Johnson and Atkins each must pay a $150,000 civil penalty and face three-year officer-and-director and five-year penny-stock bars.
narrative
The SEC obtained final judgments against Western Sierra Resource Corporation and its executives, Roger Johnson and Dennis Atkins, for misleading investors about gold mining acquisitions. Between June 2021 and October 2023, the defendants falsely claimed they paid $10 million for 640 acres of Nevada mining claims that did not actually exist. These misrepresentations were disseminated through press releases, company websites, and regulatory filings. To resolve the charges, the parties consented to judgments without admitting or denying the allegations. Johnson and Atkins each agreed to pay $150,000 in civil penalties. Additionally, both executives received a three-year officer-and-director bar and a five-year penny-stock bar.
Classified pre-ipo-fraud(confidence 90%). EDGAR detection: forms S-1/Form D/1-A· recall 72% / precision 8%. detection rule →
Parties
BeranekTeva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.
Keywords
western sierrawesternsierrajohnsonatkinssierra resourceresource corporationroger johnsondennis atkinssecurities exchangemining claimsjohnson atkinsminingcorporation rogerjohnson dennis
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 2
- $10.00M $10 million $10M–$100M
- $150K $150,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 8
- person Abigail Edwards
- person dennis atkins
- person final judgments
- person jodanna haskins
- person roger johnson
- agency Securities and Exchange Commission
- organization Securities and Exchange Commission
- organization Western Sierra Resource Corporation
Triples 10
- Securities And Exchange Commission obtained final judgments
- Western Sierra Resource Corporation made false and misleading statements
- Roger Johnson claimed interest in a company
- Dennis Atkins claimed interest in a company
- Western Sierra Resource Corporation paid $10 million
- Securities And Exchange Commission charged Western Sierra Resource Corporation
- Roger Johnson consented to payment of civil penalty
- Dennis Atkins consented to payment of civil penalty
- Abigail Edwards conducted investigation
- Jodanna Haskins led litigation
Extracted body text (2,536c)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26491 / February 25, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Western Sierra Resource Corporation, Roger Johnson, and Dennis Atkins, No. 1:24-cv-01705 (D. Colo. filed June 18, 2024)SEC Obtains Final Judgments by Consent Against Colorado Mining Company and Executives in Fraud CaseOn February 23, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgments against Colorado-based penny-stock issuer Western Sierra Resource Corporation (“Western Sierra”), its Chief Executive Officer Roger Johnson, and its Chief Financial Officer Dennis Atkins, whom the SEC previously charged in a litigated action concerning the issuance of false and misleading statements concerning Western Sierra’s alleged purchase of gold mining claims worth billions of dollars.According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on June 18, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, from June 2021 through at least October 2023, Western Sierra, Johnson, and Atkins made materially false and misleading statements concerning the acquisition of certain gold mining rights in multiple press releases; in quarterly and annual submissions filed with the trading platform Over-the-Counter Markets; and on Western Sierra’s website. As alleged in the complaint, Western Sierra, through Johnson and Atkins, claimed it had paid $10 million for an interest in a company that purportedly owned more than 640 acres of Bureau of Land Management mining claims within the State of Nevada. However, the complaint alleges, this company did not own any mining claims, and Western Sierra did not pay $10 million for these purported mining claims.Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, Western Sierra, Johnson, and Atkins each consented to the entry of a final judgment that enjoins them from violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. Johnson and Atkins each further consented to a payment of a civil penalty in the amount of $150,000 each, a three-year officer-and-director bar, and a five-year penny-stock bar.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Abigail Edwards and supervised by Kimberly Frederick, and Nicholas Heinke, all of the Denver Regional Office. William Connolly of the Enforcement Division’s Office of Investigative and Market Analytics assisted with the investigation. The litigation was led by Jodanna Haskins and Rachel Yeates and supervised by Gregory Kasper and Mr. Heinke.
OCR text (2,536c · html-text · 99% conf)
U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSIONLitigation Release No. 26491 / February 25, 2026Securities and Exchange Commission v. Western Sierra Resource Corporation, Roger Johnson, and Dennis Atkins, No. 1:24-cv-01705 (D. Colo. filed June 18, 2024)SEC Obtains Final Judgments by Consent Against Colorado Mining Company and Executives in Fraud CaseOn February 23, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained final judgments against Colorado-based penny-stock issuer Western Sierra Resource Corporation (“Western Sierra”), its Chief Executive Officer Roger Johnson, and its Chief Financial Officer Dennis Atkins, whom the SEC previously charged in a litigated action concerning the issuance of false and misleading statements concerning Western Sierra’s alleged purchase of gold mining claims worth billions of dollars.According to the SEC’s complaint, filed on June 18, 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, from June 2021 through at least October 2023, Western Sierra, Johnson, and Atkins made materially false and misleading statements concerning the acquisition of certain gold mining rights in multiple press releases; in quarterly and annual submissions filed with the trading platform Over-the-Counter Markets; and on Western Sierra’s website. As alleged in the complaint, Western Sierra, through Johnson and Atkins, claimed it had paid $10 million for an interest in a company that purportedly owned more than 640 acres of Bureau of Land Management mining claims within the State of Nevada. However, the complaint alleges, this company did not own any mining claims, and Western Sierra did not pay $10 million for these purported mining claims.Without admitting or denying the allegations of the complaint, Western Sierra, Johnson, and Atkins each consented to the entry of a final judgment that enjoins them from violations of the antifraud provisions of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5(b) thereunder. Johnson and Atkins each further consented to a payment of a civil penalty in the amount of $150,000 each, a three-year officer-and-director bar, and a five-year penny-stock bar.The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Abigail Edwards and supervised by Kimberly Frederick, and Nicholas Heinke, all of the Denver Regional Office. William Connolly of the Enforcement Division’s Office of Investigative and Market Analytics assisted with the investigation. The litigation was led by Jodanna Haskins and Rachel Yeates and supervised by Gregory Kasper and Mr. Heinke.