Alexander Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Members of an Italian clan of burglars who took more than £1.2m worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

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

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their phones off as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

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

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

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

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".