Who Wants To Be A Millionaire cheat and former Army Major Charles Ingram, was given a conditional discharge after being convicted of insurance fraud.
Judge Samuel Wiggs told Bournemouth crown court that Ingram, 41, of Easterton Wiltshire, had already been severely punished as the family was now close to bankruptcy, revealed a report.
Ingram lost £30,00 after a claim he made for a genuine burglary at the family's home was made void.
Last month he was found guilty of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception and of deception by trying to claim on a policy he had obtained without declaring his previous claims history. Ingram had failed to tell Direct Line about claims made in the previous three years before he took out a policy with them in 2001.
According to the report, Judge Wiggs said he rejected a community service sentence after Ingram told a probation officer he was scared of bullying by fellow criminals.
After the sentencing Ingram said he felt humbled by the decision, and was grateful to the Judge.
