Father to Turn in Daughter, 19, After She Embezzles US$2.5 Million From Familiy Business to Tip Livestreamers

A father in Zhengzhou plans to take his 19-year-old daughter to police in a legal gambit to recover 17 million yuan (US$2.5 million) – the family's life savings – that she embezzled from the family business over 16 months to become a top tipper in Chinese livestream rooms.

Nearly 11 million yuan went to tipping streamers. The remaining 6 million went to card-unboxing games, a livestream variant of trading-card gambling. The family business is now bankrupt and owes millions to creditors, the father, surnamed Zhu, told Dahe Daily in an interview published Monday.

"She faces at least 10 years in prison if convicted," Zhu said. "By the time she gets out, she will be in her 30s. But this 17 million yuan is our life savings. I cannot explain this to our creditors. Only if the money is legally classified as stolen funds can we possibly recover it."

Zhu said his daughter, Xiao Meng, dropped out of vocational school after one year and began working as the cashier at the family's cold-chain food stall. In July 2024, at age 19, she started misusing the stall's funds to tip livestream hosts and purchase card-unboxing blind boxes.

In the livestream rooms where she spent her days, Zhu's daughter Xiao Meng was known as bang yi da jie – "Number One Sister," the top-ranked tipper, a coveted status in China's livestreaming economy that buys public recognition from hosts. She held the rank in multiple rooms simultaneously.

Zhu said the family business is now essentially bankrupt and owes millions in loans. Despite this, Xiao Meng still spends all day on her phone.

"I contacted the streamers involved, but they refused to return the money," Zhu said. "I'm afraid that in the end, my child will go to prison and the money will not be recovered."

Zhu, barely literate, had trained his daughter to keep the company books when she was 16 and handed her full control of its funds two years later.

When he noticed small discrepancies in summer 2024, she admitted tipping streamers 500,000 to 600,000 yuan and promised to stop. He believed her. In November 2025, he went to withdraw money for inventory. She told him the account was empty.

Bank records show that beginning July 17, 2024, she made dozens of transactions a day, on some days moving more than 160,000 yuan. Most flowed from the company account to her personal account, then to the livestreaming platform.

Lawyer Zhou Zhaocheng from Beijing Anjian Law Firm said Xiao Meng is of full criminal responsibility. He stated that her conduct potentially constitutes embezzlement, and the amount involved – 17 million yuan – is considered "exceptionally huge."

Under Chinese law, conviction for embezzlement at this scale carries a sentence of no less than 10 years in prison, up to life imprisonment. If the court determines that she only temporarily misappropriated the funds with a clear intention to repay, the charge could be reduced to misappropriation of funds, which carries a sentence of three to 10 years.

Zhou also said that if the 17 million yuan is legally classified as stolen funds, the streamers who received the tips, the MCN agency that took commissions, and the platform that facilitated the transactions all have an obligation to return the money.

"Streamers must refund the full amount," Zhou said. "If the MCN or platform failed to implement real-name verification, failed to issue risk warnings for abnormally large tips, or allowed streamers to encourage excessive spending, they could be held jointly liable for compensation. Even if part of the money has already been spent, the court can order restitution."