The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) announced yesterday that John Gregory Paterson, the former president and CEO of Southwestern Resources Corp., has admitted to securities fraud and illegal insider trading. The BCSC stated that it has barred Paterson from the business, and that he also owes the BCSC approximately about $3.5 million that he claims he does not have the assets to pay.
CBC News reports that “Paterson put out 24 news releases between March 7, 2003, and February 21, 2007, about Boka that contained hundreds of discrepancies, an agreed statement of facts signed by Paterson.” Among the more significant “discrepancies” were “at least 60 instances where Southwestern had reported significant gold findings where the actual assay result was negligible (less than 0.1 gram/ton).”
