Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who stole over £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing another car to scout out targets and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.
The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, jewellery and shoes worth more than £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, switched 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 vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, 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 value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not submitted.
Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".