Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The judge previously heard the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.
On March 31 they stole over one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were away.
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 £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced touring thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.
Court Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court was informed, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.
The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.
The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount outstanding".