Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.
The foursome were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must hand over £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the group came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at over £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a license 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.
Court Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the result if the money was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".