Two on-line scam artists from Wolverhampton defrauded Virgin Media of up to £2.7 million by selling illegal digital television viewing cards on an internet trading site.

Jagdeep Bhogal and Manminder Singh were both given six months in prison, suspended for two years, after using ebay to sell doctored Virgin Media cards that allowed users free access to subscription-only programmes.

The cards, which retail at £6.75, can make Virgin up to £130 each a month as customers pay to view a package of programmes, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

Mr Nicholas Smith, prosecuting, told yesterday how a Virgin employee noticed the cards being sold on-line.

He contacted the sellers posing as a potential customer before being offered hundreds of the cards by both Bhogal and Singh.

The pair were also caught using illegal Virgin Media cards in their own homes, with the normal £30 viewing limit extended to allow them £29,000 worth of programme viewing.

Mr Smith added: “The potential revenue loss to Virgin Media was £2.69 million but we accept that the financial benefit to the defendants was £15,000 because the cards were only sold for an average of £8 each.”

Bhogal, aged 30, of Court Road, Whitmore Reans, and Singh, also 30, of Jeffcock Road, Penn Fields, sold more than 1,000 doctored cards between them during 2008 and 2009.

Bhogal previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing or controlling articles for fraud and two counts of making or supplying articles for fraud. Singh admitted one count of possessing or controlling articles for fraud and five counts of making or supplying articles for use in fraud.

Recorder Richard Benson QC ordered the fraudsters to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £762 costs each. He told them the offences were “totally out of character.”