Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in May 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing another car to search for targets and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

The following night, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the money was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the amount due".