Alexander Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov confessed to their involvement in the crimes

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who took more than £1.2 million worth of items, including from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the group came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

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

The following night, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Burglars took money and jewellery worth £80,000 and an car from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's property

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

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

The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".

Tammy Kelley
Tammy Kelley

A seasoned casino gaming expert with over a decade of experience in slot analysis and strategy development.