On September 15, a nine-year-old YouTuber uploaded a video titled “Message from Dad… Mighty Mike Plays is Over,” in which his father, Dave, explained that he paid $20 to help promote his Minecraft and Roblox videos. He alleged that his son then continued to spend a further $118,000 on ad campaigns without permission over three weeks, all charged to the same company credit card saved to the Google account. Dave was supposedly pulled into a meeting with his manager and shown the charges.
We decided not to run the story at TheGamer initially, wary that it might be an elaborate hoax or, worst case, a scam. The video is laden with jokes, from Dave saying he considered adoption to Mike jumping off towers and declaring himself “cooked,” and while some Mighty Mike Plays videos did rack up hundreds of thousands of views through ad campaigns that were noticed by YouTubers prior to the “Message from Dad” video, we couldn’t independently verify the $118,000 figure. At the time, we were skeptical that a nine-year-old could spend more than $100,000 on Google Ads over three weeks without triggering some kind of spending restriction or immediately attracting attention from the company whose credit card was being used.
A lot has surfaced since September 15, however, and so in this article, we’ll break down the timeline, new allegations, and public skepticism.
Mighty Mike’s Dad Is Allegedly A Millionaire
Shortly after the video was published, on September 19, Dave claimed in a new video that he had been let go from his job and was now expected to repay the $118,000 within just 30 days. Rather than opening a GoFundMe page, Dave began selling merch emblazoned with AI-generated artwork playing on the video with messages like “I’M DEFINITELY COOKED” and “WASSUP CHAT,” ranging from $67 to $97. Comments soon poured in on Mighty Mike Plays’ videos alleging that the entire ordeal was a scam to promote his merch. Dave responded by uploading the American Express Business Gold Rewards Card balance as proof, though it does not show who owns the account or whether it had been modified.
Unconvinced by Dave’s assurances, YouTuber Scott Shafer dug deeper into the channel to try and find out who exactly he is. As reported by Dexerto, Shafer claims that Mighty Mike’s dad is David Sarkisyan (also identified by VGC), whom Shafer alleges is a millionaire that runs a media and advertising company. “This guy has a bunch of money,” Shafer claimed. “The fact this guy was like ‘you’ve got to feel bad for me, my kids spent $120,000, we might have to sell the home.’ Dude, you’ve got two homes worth $4 million. Come on guys, this doesn’t make any sense at all.”
Shafer discovered this by comparing the contact details and personal address associated with the media and advertising company with those previously listed on the website selling Mighty Mike’s T-shirts. He also claims to have identified two Glendale properties belonging to Sarkisyan worth around $4 million combined, one of which was sold in June 2026. “For Dave to claim that the company he worked for fired him because his son spent $120,000 in ads is completely untrue. He owns the company,” Shafer continued. “You can’t make that claim if you are the owner of the company.”
We cannot independently verify that Sarkisyan is a millionaire or that he owns the company, but public corporate records do list David Sarkisyan, Mighty Mike’s father, as the CEO, CFO, and Secretary of Go The Distance Media, an internet-marketing corporation based in California.
Dave has since disabled and re-enabled comments on the channel, removed merch links, participated in fundraisers, altered titles, and threatened to sue YouTubers for libel, claiming in private emails that he is “an honest person” and that “all those channels are spreading lies.” Though in a recent video, Dave backtracked on this, commenting, “no one is getting sued, after much thought it doesn’t make sense to try to silence the very people my own son looks up to.”
- Released
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November 18, 2011
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
