Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts

Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole over £1.2m valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court was told the group came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the sum was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".