Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.
The group of four were jailed for from six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The judge previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out targets and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they took over one million pounds of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.
The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, switched their mobile devices off as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended 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 family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the money was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".