Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic confessed to their involvement in the crimes

Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole over £1.2 million worth of items, including from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie 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 proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group arrived by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they took over £1m of items such as high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the only one of the group to contest the charge but was convicted by the jury

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, jewellery and footwear worth more than £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

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

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".

Alexis Clark
Alexis Clark

Lena Schmidt is a Berlin-based journalist and political analyst with over a decade of experience covering European affairs.