Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov confessed to their involvement in the burglaries

Individuals of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole over £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for between a decade or less in May 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

The court was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom 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 utilizing another car to search for properties and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the only one of the group to contest burglary but was convicted by jurors

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

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

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars stole money and jewellery worth £80,000 and an Audi from footballer Alexander Isak's property

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".

Robert Maldonado
Robert Maldonado

Lena is a seasoned gambling analyst with over a decade of experience in reviewing online casinos and advocating for responsible gaming practices.