Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in May 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out burglaries.
On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items such as high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, switched 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 car with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the money was not paid.
Judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the sum outstanding".