Isak Robbers Ordered to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic admitted their involvement in the burglaries

Members of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m worth of goods, including from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the group came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they took more than £1m of goods such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the sole member of the group to deny burglary but was convicted by the jury

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones off as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves took cash and jewellery worth eighty thousand pounds and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's property

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount outstanding".

Lisa Anthony
Lisa Anthony

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