Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Heists
Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to pay back just £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for between six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge previously heard the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they stole over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, 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 house on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.
Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices off as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Legal Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.
The judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".