Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2m valued of goods, including from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for between a decade or less in May 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.
On March 31 they took over £1m of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in money, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced touring thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited 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 sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.
The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the amount outstanding".
