Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov admitted participating in the crimes

Members of an Italian clan of burglars who stole over £1.2m valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they took more than £1m of items including designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the only one of the foursome to deny burglary but was found guilty by jurors

The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in money, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars stole cash and jewelry worth eighty thousand pounds and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's home

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".

Steve Reed
Steve Reed

Blockchain developer and interoperability specialist, passionate about building decentralized bridges to connect diverse ecosystems.