Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists
Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The foursome were jailed for between a decade or less in May 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The court was told the group came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute thefts.
On 31 March they stole more than £1m of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were away.
The following night, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth more than £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and masks, switched their phones on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Court Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no assets or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.
The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example operating Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum due".
