Alexander Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists

Burglary suspects
Charlie Jovanovic confessed to participating in the burglaries

Members of an Italian clan of thieves who took over £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

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

The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

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

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole over £1m of items such as high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino Nikolov was the sole member of the foursome to contest burglary but was convicted by jurors

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, wore gloves and masks, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves stole cash and jewelry worth £80,000 and an Audi from then-Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak's property

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "for example driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount outstanding".

Natalie Jones
Natalie Jones

A tech strategist with over a decade of experience in digital transformation and innovation, passionate about exploring emerging technologies and their impact on industries.