Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic admitted participating in the burglaries

Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

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

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

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the group came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole over one million pounds of items including designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the only one of the foursome to contest burglary but was found guilty by the jury

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they approached their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves stole money and jewelry valued at eighty thousand pounds and an car from footballer Isak's home

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

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

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".

Joel Gutierrez
Joel Gutierrez

Elara Vance is a seasoned journalist specializing in iGaming and regulatory affairs, with over a decade of experience covering the UK market.