Cop killer used student loan to buy car, loan money to prison pals Updated: Thu, Dec 07 09:07 PM EST      VANCOUVER (CP) - A cop killer on day parole was granted thousands of dollars in student loans to attend hairdressing school. But Elery Long dropped out within weeks, using much of the $5,000 loan to purchase a car and loaning the rest to former prison mates, National Parole Board documents show. Randy White, justice critic for the Canadian Alliance, said it's common knowledge among prisoners that scamming the student loan system is a good way to get money when convicts are released. "Obviously the word is out in the prisons that, you know, there's a way to get some money, pretty decent money, when you get out and that is scam the student loan system." A National Parole Board panel expressed concern about Long's "sizable" student loan in a recent review of his case. "The board can appreciate the course may not have been to your liking and the resulting forfeiture in tuition. However, your use of the $5,000 student loan balance to purchase a car and personal items is not pro-social behaviour," noted the panel. "Furthermore, your loans to former prison associates are not indicative of one who is taking his identified risk factors seriously." Despite these concerns, the day parole granted in May was extended. Long now lives on Vancouver Island. Long was sentenced to death for the 1974 murder of Delta police officer Staff Sgt. Ron McKay. He shot McKay with a sawed-off shotgun after the officer came to his home to discuss an altercation at a gas station. Long's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment when the death penalty was abolished in Canada. White has an internal Vancouver police report that says cons are applying to hairdressing and other private schools to cash in on student loans. There is nothing preventing former inmates from obtaining student loans. The concern is that parolees are receiving loans, then dropping out and keeping the loan money. The report says neither the schools, which collect tuition fees, nor the students are willing to talk to investigators. People can get up to three times more money for student living expenses than they would receive on welfare. The report says students who fail to repay their loans need only a doctor's note that they have a drug addiction problem. "It is impossible to prove fraudulent intent when someone claims they had every intention to complete a course of study but were unable due to an illness or drug dependency," according to the report entitled Crime in B.C., The Big Picture. "They will not have to repay the loan." It is at the physician's discretion whether the student's illness prevents them from completing courses. The illness is not disclosed to student loan officials due to doctor-patient privilege. Although the loan is not forgiven, it is set aside. Another loan will not be issued until the defaulted loan is repaid. "This appears to be an easy way for anybody to take advantage of the system that has been set up to help those legitimately in need," according to the report. Nikki McCallum, spokeswoman for Advanced Education Minister Cathy McGregor, said students can submit a doctor's note of illness, but the loan is not forgiven unless the student suffers from a permanent disability. The B.C. student loan program is part of McGregor's ministry. McCallum said as long as someone isn't incarcerated, they are eligible for student loans. "If it's a case of fraud, the RCMP are involved," she said, adding there are checks in place to ensure loan recipients comply. McCallum said McGregor would not comment on the issue unless given an advance list of interview questions. White called for a forensic audit of the student loan system, "in particular looking at the cons who are using the system. "There's young people out there desperately seeking student loans who obviously are not getting them because some other people who are scamming the system are getting them. And I think that's the tragedy of it, really." Parolees apply for student loans themselves, said Wayne Auster, Vancouver area director of parole. If approved, tuition goes directly to the school while living expenses go to the individual. Parole officers in most cases would know about the student loan and "would certainly monitor how the individual is using it and things like that." But Auster said there are times when that monitoring fails. "Sometimes in the very short term an individual may sort of get into a crisis and spend the money, but certainly in the longer term we would certainly monitor it," he said. "I would certainly say it's not a common occurrence." Parole officers do encourage parolees to repay student loans. "There's a repayment process and we push them towards that end," Auster said. He said it's not easy to obtain a student loan. But White said the parole board and Corrections are in "self-denial mode." "The fact of the matter is that this is more of a common occurrence than we'd like to admit in our society, that people are actually getting student loans and scamming the system."