A 19-year-old girl in Zhengzhou secretly used around 17 million yuan of funds from her father’s cold chain business to spend on live streaming gifts and unboxing blind boxes, causing the family business to be on the verge of bankruptcy. On April 21, the topic of “19-year-old girl embezzles 17 million to become top gift giver” soared to the top of the trending list, sparking public attention.
According to reports from several mainland media outlets, Mr. Zhu, a 50-year-old man, operated a meat cold chain stall in Zhengzhou, Henan. In 2021, his daughter Xiaomeng, who just turned 18, worked as a cashier in their family company after graduating, responsible for handling payments and financial transactions. In 2024, she took advantage of her position to transfer company funds to her personal account. Initially, Mr. Zhu did not notice it. It wasn’t until the summer of the same year that he suddenly discovered a shortage of five to six hundred thousand yuan in the company’s accounts.
When questioned, Xiaomeng admitted to using the money for online live streaming gifts. Out of love, Mr. Zhu did not delve deeper and allowed his daughter to continue managing finances. In November 2025, when Mr. Zhu needed a large amount of goods purchased, he asked his daughter for money, only to find out that there was no money in the account.
“I went to the bank to check the statement, and saw that over 17 million yuan was gone, my mind went blank at that moment,” Mr. Zhu said. She was considered a “top gift giver” in many live streaming rooms, the hosts called her “baby,” chatted with her, requested her help to boost their performance, and she also spent tens of thousands on unboxing blind boxes.
Bank statements showed that Xiaomeng’s highest daily expenditure reached 57 transactions, with single transactions exceeding 100,000 yuan, and the highest daily expenditure exceeding 160,000 yuan. Currently, she has spent a total of 17 million yuan, with around 11 million used for gifting to hosts of a popular group streaming room, while over 6 million was used for playing the “unboxing blind boxes” game.
Mr. Zhu stated that out of the 17 million she spent, besides the bank loans, over 3 million was borrowed from relatives and friends, 5 million owed to business partners. Their current residence was also mortgaged to the bank. If the money is not recovered, and the house is repossessed, the family’s livelihood will face a huge problem. “Before the New Year, the family reported a fraud case, and the hosts agreed to return some of the funds. But later on, they might have felt that the fraud charges were insufficient, and refused to return the money,” he said.
On April 20, Mr. Zhu accompanied his daughter to surrender at the Huji branch of the Zhengzhou Public Security Bureau. Currently, the police have launched an investigation.
As for why Xiaomeng became immersed in live streaming and couldn’t extricate herself, Mr. Zhu admitted that he and his wife divorced early on, then rebuilt their family. He was busy with his business, had less communication with Xiaomeng, and his ex-wife rarely looked after the children. Xiaomeng may have felt a lack of emotional connection within the family. “Those hosts and online friends flattered her, stayed up chatting with her, asked for her help to boost their performance. She may have enjoyed that feeling.”
Reportedly, Xiaomeng is considered a “high-quality customer” in the live streaming rooms. Some sellers even specifically filmed an unboxing video for her, with hundreds of comments praising Xiaomeng as “cool”.
In response, Xiaomeng admitted that she had realized several times that she spent too much on gifts, trying to “put on the brakes” but ended up unable to quit like quitting smoking. “It seems like when the money is turned into numbers and paid, it doesn’t feel like much, but when I buy something in real life, I feel it’s expensive and can’t bear to do it.”
The incident has garnered attention online. Netizens have expressed opinions such as, “Personal tipping frequency and amount on platforms should be restricted,” “The platform is akin to past leaders of beggars’ gangs,” “Legislation on related network tipping is imperative.”
However, a netizen who was a former host revealed that the tactics inside were profound and challenging to avoid, “Once you reach a certain amount of tipping, the host will add you on WeChat. Then they chat with you, but this chat includes brainwashing and involves you. Eventually, you become a cash machine.”
“As for how to brainwash and involve you, it’s summed up in a certain way of wording! It’s a manual in which it records how to respond with set phrases. The first sentence the host adds you, they will ask you what are you doing, how old you are this year. If you are over 18, they won’t ask about your parents! If you are under 18, they will ask if your parents know? These questions determine if they will invest energy in you. In their eyes, the high-quality customers are those who are single with no partner, company executives, or small business owners.” The netizen said.