A VIIOLENT criminal who beat and robbed his victim before spending hundreds of pounds on his bank card has been jailed.

Ralfe Igor Benedito-Fazenda, 20, of Brooke Road in Hackney was found guilty of one count of robbery and six counts of fraud by false representation on Thursday January 19.

On February 27 2016 at around 4am a 39-year-old man was travelling home on a Route 149 bus in Kingsland High Street towards Tottenham.

He noticed five men sitting nearby who followed him along Church Street in Stoke Newington after he got off the bus.

After one of them said: "Where do you think you're going?" the gang pushed him into an alleyway and inflicted  a number of blows to his face causing deep lacerations.

The men robbed the victim’s mobile phone and his wallet containing his driving licence, cash and a bank card. 

After staggering home, the victim reported the robbery to police who launched an inquiry.

Benidito-Fazenda used the bank card to spend hundreds of pounds in betting shops and clothing stores at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford the next morning.

He finished his spree by treating himself to a kebab and chips, also paid for with the stolen bank card.

As a result of CCTV, Benedito-Fazenda was indentified as a suspect in the robbery and also the man who had used the stolen bank card at Westfield. 

After images were circulated of him, he was arrested on March 7 2016 at Euston station after being stopped for fare evasion. 

On April 18 2016 Benedito-Fazenda was charged with robbery, two offences of handling stolen goods and 13 offences of fraud by false representation in his use of the stolen bank cards.

He was sentenced to a total of five years’ imprisonment for robbery and six months each for the fraud by false representation counts, to run concurrently.

The trial at Wood Green Crown Court lasted four days. 

Detective Constable Scott Johnson, investigating officer from Hackney, said: “It was a cowardly attack by a group of males who used unnecessary violence.

“Benedito-Fazenda was one of these men, and he went on a spending spree with the victim’s bank cards with not a care in the world.

“He is a violent and cynical criminal.”

Enquiries continue to find the others involved in this attack.

Anyone with information should contact Hackney police on 101 to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or tweet @MetCC.