Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2 million valued of items, among them from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Break-ins
The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out burglaries.
On March 31 they stole over £1m of items including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.
The next evening, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth more than £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered admissions to the same charge.
At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be served in jail if he failed to pay.
The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".