The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought allegations of insider trading and securities fraud in a case that echoes similar enforcement cases brought by the Ontario Securities Commission last year.

The SEC on Thursday charged Guillaume Pollet, a former managing director of SG Cowen & Co., with insider trading and fraud for allegedly short selling the stock of companies prior to the companies closing on a private offering of stock, including offerings in which SG Cowen invested. The allegations have not been proven.

In the U.S., these sorts of private offerings are often referred to as “PIPEs” for “private investment in public equity.” At the time of the alleged misconduct, Pollet was in charge of investing SG Cowen proprietary funds in PIPE transactions.

In Canada, the OSC brought several similar cases last year involving fund managers and brokers trading with knowledge of pending private placements or special warrant financings.

SEC’scomplaint alleges that during 2001 Pollet traded in the shares of 10 public companies that either engaged in, or were contemplating engaging in, PIPE financings after receiving confidential non-public information about the upcoming PIPE transaction. It is seeking injunctive relief, disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains plus pre-judgment interest, and civil penalties.

Mark Schonfeld, director of the commission’s Northeast Regional Office, said, “While PIPE transactions may help a company meet its financing needs, they also create opportunities for fraud. This case sends the message that we will actively patrol this area so that issuers and investors alike can have confidence in these financing vehicles.”

The SEC says its investigation is continuing.