A nine-year-old boy allegedly spent $118,000 promoting his Minecraft and Roblox videos on YouTube after gaining access to his father's advertising setup, with the charges billed to a company credit card.
The boy's father, Dave, said the spending continued for about three weeks before his employer discovered the charges and called him into a meeting with corporate and finance representatives.
The incident came to light after a video was shared on the Mighty Mike Plays YouTube channel, which Dave runs with his son Mike. The $118,000 figure, the circumstances surrounding the spending and the company's response have not been independently verified.
How a $20 YouTube Campaign Became a $118,000 Bill
According to Dave, Mike had become frustrated that his Minecraft and Roblox gameplay videos were attracting relatively few views and subscribers.
Dave said he initially helped his son create a small YouTube advertising campaign, setting a $20 budget, selecting an audience, and launching the promotion.
The problem, he said, was that the Google account he used already had his company credit card saved as a payment method. The account was also connected to his work email, calendar, files and other services.
After watching his father create the first campaign, Mike allegedly returned to the advertising tools himself and began creating additional campaigns.
'He didn't really register that was supposed to be some kind of limit in his head,' Dave said in the video.
According to Dave, the campaigns continued for roughly three weeks before his employer confronted him about the spending.
He said he was summoned to a meeting involving his manager, corporate representatives and finance staff, where he was shown advertising charges totalling $118,000 on the company card assigned to him.
Dave said he had not yet been told whether he would have to repay the money or whether he would keep his job when he recorded the video.
He also acknowledged responsibility for leaving the payment credentials accessible, saying the incident could have been prevented with tighter account controls and spending limits.
Mike appeared to recognise the seriousness of the situation after the spending was discovered.
'I'm definitely cooked,' the nine-year-old said on camera.
Google Ads Requires Advertisers to Be 18
The incident does not appear to involve Google knowingly allowing a nine-year-old to open a Google Ads account.
Google's advertising policies state that users must be 18 or older to use Google Ads. The company says an account may be suspended if it determines that the account holder does not meet the age requirement.
The situation involving Mike was different. According to Dave, his son allegedly gained access to an advertising setup that had already been created and linked to an adult's payment method.
Google also has controls intended to detect suspicious payment activity. Its policies say Google Ads can suspend an account or limit spending if unusual payment activity is detected. Google specifically lists suspicious payment activity as a reason for suspension.
What remains unclear from Dave's account is why the reported spending was not stopped or flagged earlier, and whether Google's systems detected any unusual activity before the employer discovered the charges.
What Happens to the $118,000?
Dave said the family planned to remove saved payment details from shared accounts, introduce spending limits where possible and strengthen parental controls.
He also said the Mighty Mike Plays channel could be paused while the family deals with the financial and professional consequences of the incident.
The father's account suggests that Mike believed spending more on advertising would simply produce more views for his videos. Dave said his son did not understand that the money being spent was real or that the payment method belonged to his father's employer.
For now, the most significant unanswered questions concern the $118,000 itself: whether the full amount was actually charged, whether any of it can be recovered, and what action, if any, Dave's employer ultimately takes.
Dave said he accepts responsibility for allowing the company payment method to remain accessible and warned viewers that the family intends to put stronger 'guardrails' in place before the channel returns.
