Alexander Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists
Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge was told the gang arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.
The following night, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth over £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the same charge.
At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".