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

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic admitted participating in the crimes

Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK 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 hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the gang came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items including designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the sole member of the group to contest the charge but was found guilty by the jury

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices off as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars took money and jewelry valued at £80,000 and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's property

Legal Hearings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, 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 "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the money was not paid.

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

Nicole Perez
Nicole Perez

A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in online gaming strategies and slot machine reviews.