Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2 Million Thefts
Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who took over £1.2 million valued of goods, including from former NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to pay back just £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in April 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 brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The court was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.
Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes 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 "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.
Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".
