Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists
Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who took more than £1.2 million valued of items, including from former Newcastle United striker Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in May 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The judge previously heard the group came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out thefts.
On 31 March they took over one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee 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 found with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".