Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Thefts

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic admitted participating in the crimes

Individuals of an Italian family of thieves who stole over £1.2m valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for between a decade or less in 2025.

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they took over £1m of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the foursome to deny burglary but was convicted by the jury

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves stole cash and jewellery worth eighty thousand pounds and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's property

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered 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 over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".

Kathy Elliott
Kathy Elliott

A digital strategist and content creator passionate about blending creativity with technology to drive impactful online experiences.