Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.
The foursome were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The court was told the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took over £1m of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".