Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the group arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.
The following night, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared 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 13 April.
Legal Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no money or assets so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.
Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the sum outstanding".