Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Thefts

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic admitted their involvement in the crimes

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2m worth of items, including from former NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in May 2025.

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

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute thefts.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the sole member of the group to contest the charge but was convicted by jurors

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced touring thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars took money and jewelry worth £80,000 and an car from footballer Alexander Isak's property

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 identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited 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 Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the sum due".

Brittney Gutierrez
Brittney Gutierrez

A passionate fiber artist and knitting enthusiast with over a decade of experience in creating unique, hand-dyed yarns and teaching crafting techniques.