Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole more than £1.2m valued of goods, including from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The court previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took over one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then acted 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 player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.
The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the amount due".