Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Heists

Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using another car to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced itinerant burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the amount due".