Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts
Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.
The group of four were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Details of the Burglaries
The judge previously heard the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the money was not submitted.
Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".