Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic confessed to participating in the crimes

Individuals of an Italian family of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they stole over £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.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the group to contest the charge but was convicted by the jury

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves stole cash and jewellery valued at £80,000 and an car from then-Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's property

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the amount outstanding".

Christina Joseph
Christina Joseph

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in slot machine mechanics and player psychology.