A father claims that his 9-year-old son used his company credit card to run YouTube ads, spending $118,000 over three weeks. The ads promoted the child's Minecraft and Roblox gameplay videos, and the expenses were later discovered by the father's employer.
Father Dave shared the story in a video posted on the Mighty Mike Plays channel, which is operated by his son Mike. The channel primarily features Minecraft and Roblox gameplay content and was initially created just for Mike to share the games he enjoys.
Dave stated that he had saved his company credit card to the Google account linked to his work email, which was also connected to his calendar, files, and payment methods. After Mike watched his father create a $20 ad campaign, he allegedly accessed the ad tool again and set up additional promotional campaigns on his own.
Dave believes his son did not realize the spending should be limited, thinking only that more investment would lead to higher view counts. Subsequently, company managers, department representatives, and finance staff called Dave into a meeting, showed him the detailed ad spending report for the past three weeks, and asked him to explain the $118,000 charge on the company credit card.
The transactions involved content such as "Mighty Mike," "Epic Roblox," and Minecraft gameplay videos. Dave said that three of the promoted videos reached approximately 200,000 views, but there has been no resolution yet regarding whether the company will require him to repay the amount or if he can keep his job.
Dave stated that he does not believe his son understood the severity of the expenditure, while admitting that he failed to set spending limits or parental controls and left payment information accessible, taking responsibility for the incident. The family plans to delete saved payment details, set spending caps, and enable parental controls; the Mighty Mike Plays channel may also pause updates until effective restrictions are in place. Dave's account, the $118,000 figure, and the company's subsequent actions have not been independently verified.