Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov confessed to their involvement in the burglaries

Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Details of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the group arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.

On 31 March they stole over £1m of goods such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the foursome to contest the charge but was found guilty by jurors

The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their phones on silent as they neared their targets 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 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars stole cash and jewelry valued at eighty thousand pounds and an car from then-Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's property

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members 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 amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".

Lisa Cole
Lisa Cole

Mira is a data scientist and tech writer specializing in analytics tools and digital transformation strategies.