Isak Robbers Ordered to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italian clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie journeyed 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 criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.
On 31 March they took more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.
The following night, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth more than £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".