Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they stole over £1m of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth over £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in money, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.
The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
Judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".