Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italian clan of burglars who stole over £1.2 million worth of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The court previously heard the group came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took more than £1m of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.
The following night, the gang entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were described by the prosecution as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.
At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be spent 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 one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", prosecutors could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum due".