Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov confessed to their involvement in the crimes

Members of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2m valued of items, among them from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic 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 Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham rest stops while using another car to scout out targets and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they took over £1m of items including designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the sole member of the foursome to contest the charge but was found guilty by the jury

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves took money and jewelry valued at eighty thousand pounds and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's home

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino 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 session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or property so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".

Melanie Potter
Melanie Potter

A seasoned slot gaming strategist with over a decade of experience in casino analytics and player psychology.