Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of items, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for between a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge was told the gang came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.
On March 31 they took more than £1m of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.
The next evening, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the result if the money was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".
