Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic confessed to participating in the crimes

Individuals of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of goods, among them from former Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

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

The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court was told the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while using another car to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of items including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the foursome to contest burglary but was found guilty by the jury

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at over £100,000.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves took cash and jewelry valued at £80,000 and an Audi from footballer Alexander Isak's home

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the sum due".

Whitney Guzman
Whitney Guzman

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and gambling psychology, dedicated to helping players make informed decisions.