Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic confessed to participating in the crimes

Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million valued of goods, including from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Details of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

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

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

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

Court Hearings and Sentencing

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

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the amount outstanding".

Wanda Hull
Wanda Hull

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