Nine-year-old Mike, who hosts the channel Mighty Mike Plays with Minecraft and Roblox gameplay, launched advertising campaigns on YouTube and ran up a bill of $118 000.
It all began when his father, David Sarkisyan, who works in marketing, decided to help his son: he showed him how to set up a small campaign for $20 to attract views.
Mike remembered the process, but not the budget limit. He kept launching campaigns on his own, thinking that the more money, the more views.
The company card had remained saved in the Google account after a purchase of Robux for Roblox. The system approved every transaction without limits.
The spending went on for three weeks. Three promoted videos gained around 200 000 views each.
David learned about the problem when he was called into a meeting with his manager, corporate staff and finance. On the screen they showed a breakdown of expenses by $118 000.
In a video on his son's channel, “Message from Dad… Mighty Mike Plays is Over,” the boy says: “I’m definitely cooked.”
The father admits his mistake: he did not delete the card details and did not set limits. The family is not one of those with a six-figure cushion.
The company has not yet said whether it will demand the money back or whether David will keep his job. And what if the limit had been in place from the very start?
