Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2m worth of items, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth over £100,000.
Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks 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 one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.
The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".
