Western Sierra Resource Corporation, Roger Johnson, and Dennis Atkins

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Litigation Release No. 26491 / February 25, 2026 Securities 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 Case On 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. Return to top SEC homepage About the SEC Budget & Performance Careers Commission Votes Contact Contracts Transparency Accessibility & Disability Artificial Intelligence FOIA Inspector General No FEAR Act Data Ombuds SEC Excess Personal Property Guidance Websites Investor.gov Related Sites USA.gov Site Information Plain Writing Privacy & Security Site Map Stay connected. Sign up for email updates. Your email address Sign Up X Facebook Instagram RSS YouTube Email Updates