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

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic admitted participating in the burglaries

Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

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

On March 31 they took over £1m of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the sole member of the foursome to deny the charge but was convicted by jurors

The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars took money and jewellery valued at eighty thousand pounds and an car from footballer Isak's property

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value 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 "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or assets so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a property", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum due".

Jorge Osborn
Jorge Osborn

A technology journalist and business analyst with over a decade of experience covering global tech trends and startup ecosystems.