Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for between a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Burglaries
The court was told the group came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they stole over 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 residents were away.
The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison 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 prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount due".
