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17-Year-Old Trading Genius Who "Made " $72 Million Actually Just "Made It All Up"

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Yesterday, when we skeptically mocked the NY Mag's Jessica Pressler coverage of Mohammed Islam, the 17-year-old wunderkind who "allegedly" made $72 million in the market by trading penny stocks, we covered the salient lies and told readers to "feel free to click on the NY Mag's story about the young "multi-millionaire" - after all that was the whole point." Sure enough, in the finest tradition of the New Republic's Stephen Glass, the entire article was nothing more than one epic big clickbait fest.

Oh, did we mention: completely fabricated clickbait.

Because after the entire world learned that young trading whiz-kid Mohammed Islam had "made" $72 million, certainly including the IRS which would promptly come looking for the $36 or so million it was due, the alleged megatrader, who got just the wrong 15 minutes of fame, scrambled to set the record straight, and explained the instead of making money, he actually made nothing, he just made it all up: to wit: "Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all? No. So it’s total fiction? Yes. I run an investment club at Stuy High which does only simulated trades."

Well that clears it up.

Now all he needs is a newsletter and he can claim he is Investment Club 2.0.

For the full story we present the following interview with the NY Observer, where Islam confesses he is nothing but a paper trader.

New York Mag’s Boy Genius Investor Made It All Up 

Monday’s edition of New York magazine includes an irresistible story about a Stuyvesant High senior named Mohammed Islam who had made a fortune investing in the stock market. Reporter Jessica Pressler wrote regarding the precise number, “Though he is shy about the $72 million number, he confirmed his net worth is in the “’high eight figures.’” The New York Post followed up with a story of its own, with the fat figure playing a key role in the headline: “High school student scores $72M playing the stock market.”

And now it turns out, the real number is … zero.

In an exclusive interview with Mr. Islam and his friend Damir Tulemaganbetov, who also featured heavily in the New York story, the baby faced boys who dress in suits with tie clips came clean. Swept up in a tide of media adulation, they made the whole thing up.

Speaking at the offices of their newly hired crisis pr firm, 5WPR, and handled by a phalanx of four, including the lawyer Ed Mermelstein of RheemBell & Mermelstein, Mr. Islam told a story that will be familiar to just about any 12th grader—a fib turns into a lie turns into a rumor turns into a bunch of mainstream media stories and invitations to appear on CNBC.

Here’s how it happened.

Observer: What was your first contact with the New York magazine reporter?

Mohammed Islam: My friend’s father worked at New York magazine and he had the reporter contact me. Then she [Jessica Pressler] called me.

You seem to be quoted saying “eight figures.” That’s not true, is it?

No, it is not true.

Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all?

No.

So it’s total fiction?

Yes.

Are you interested in investing? How did you get this reputation?

I run an investment club at Stuy High which does only simulated trades.

If you had been playing with real money, would you have done really well?

The simulated trades percentage was extremely high relative to the S&P.

Where did Jessica Pressler come up with the $72 million figure?

I honestly don’t know. The number’s a rumor.

She said ‘have you made $72 million’?

[I led her to believe] I had made even more than $72 million on the simulated trades.

At this point the PR reps jumped in with Law & Order style objections. A conference outside the room ensued. Back into the room came Mr. Islam.

All I can say is for the simulated trades, I was very successful. The returns were incredible and outperformed the S&P.

Damir, tell me where you fit into this.

Damir Tulemaganbetov: Well, I got excited by this whole trading thing and I said hey, let me get on board. I heard about this article coming out and Mohammed invited me and I met Jessica.

But you guys are pals outside of this?

We go to social gatherings and friends’ places.

Are you into stockpicking as well?

I haven’t been into it but I’m interested.

Mohammed, you’re from Queens and you go to this elite public high school. Is this a hobby of your parents as well or would you be the first person in your family to pursue high finance?

Mohammed Islam: In my immediate family, just me.

So what did your parents think when they’re reading that you’ve got $72 million?

Mohammed Islam: Honestly, my dad wanted to disown me. My mom basically said she’d never talk to me. Their morals are that if I lie about it and don’t own up to it then they can no longer trust me. … They knew it was false and they basically wanted to kill me and I haven’t spoken to them since.

You haven’t? Where did you sleep last night?

Mohammed Islam: At a friend’s house. But we didn’t sleep.

Damir Tulemaganbetov: We stayed awake all night. We’ve been checking out news all over the world.

Are your friends blowing up your phones?

Damir Tulemaganbetov: He had 297 unread messages and 190 LinkedIn. All the friends shared it.

Mohammed Islam: It was hyped up beyond belief.

Damir Tulemaganbetov: We were at CNBC. That’s why we’re dressed up. But we were there and literally in the building stressing out. We had 20 minutes. Then we three times asked them could we have 20 seconds to talk?

[The boys ended up cancelling the CNBC appearance.]

Where do you go from here?

Damir Tulemaganbetov: Socially, people will be mad about it. But we’re sorry. Especially to our parents. Like my dad would read this and be like ‘Oh My God’ because he’s a very humble man and I portrayed him like a bad father.

Mohammed Islam: At school, first things first. I am incredibly sorry for any misjudgment and any hurt I caused. The people I’m most sorry for is my parents. I did something where I can no longer gain their trust. I have one sister, two years younger, and we don’t really talk.

 

So that’s that. There was no $72 million, no “eight figures,” not even one figure. The story is already coming unglued as the commenters on New York’s site hammer the reporter for even thinking this was possible. New York has now altered its headline to back away from the $72 million figure but the story itself remains. Even if this working-class kid had somehow started with $100,000 as a high school freshman on day one at Stuy High, he’d have needed to average a compounded annualized return of something like 796% over the three years since. C’mon, man.

No one asked for my opinion, but I’m going to provide it anyway, having sat with these kids for a good bit on a tough day. They got carried away. They’re not children. But they’re not quite adults, either, and at least Mr. Islam was literally quaking as we spoke. So yeah, they probably should have known better. But New York and the New York Post probably should have, as well. This story smelled fishy the instant it appeared and a quick dance with the calculator probably would have saved these young men—and a couple reporters—some embarrassment.

 

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Tue, 12/16/2014 - 10:46 | 5558137 Uber Vandal
Tue, 12/16/2014 - 10:53 | 5558181 Toolshed
Toolshed's picture

You must understand, these are the types of stories TPTB want in front of the sheeple right now. Look!! You too can be a rich man!! See how easy it is. Even a kid can do it!!! These gullible young boys were used like the mindless tools they actually are. Those evil bastards with calculators screwed it all up! Here comes some legislation to ban calculators.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:02 | 5558222 Aussiekiwi
Aussiekiwi's picture

Could go one of two ways:

1) The Government and the Fed will throw the book at him because lies of this magnitude are their prerogative and he is muscling in on their game.

 

2) They will recognize the talent and employ him at the top echelons of Government.

 

 

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:02 | 5558244 Blood Spattered...
Blood Spattered Banner's picture

What an assclown.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:04 | 5558256 Wahooo
Wahooo's picture

He'll fit in perfectly with the rest of the tribe on Wall Street. Wonder how many job offers he's had?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:05 | 5558257 robertocarlos
robertocarlos's picture

So he IS going to be a central banker one day.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:12 | 5558282 Coletrane
Coletrane's picture

sounds like he truly belongs over at the Fed.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:21 | 5558317 topspinslicer
topspinslicer's picture

This kid has a bright future in government, at cnbc, at the sec, at the federal reserve -- many options

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:21 | 5558321 falak pema
falak pema's picture

lol, Islam where did you EARN your name? 

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:21 | 5558326 fredquimby
fredquimby's picture

Never heard of him, but it's just piss poor journalism no? No fact checking just parroting whatever they see.

MSM showing how crap it is. Again.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:25 | 5558349 Grinder74
Grinder74's picture

A mooslum lying??? Gosh, what would the thieving, lying, murdering, raping pedophile of a "prophet" say about this kid?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:28 | 5558356 Grinder74
Grinder74's picture

Would else anyone be dumb enough to name their kid Jesus Christianity, or Buddha Buddhism?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:30 | 5558371 silverer
silverer's picture

Oh, that's nothing. My friends bartender's little sisters next door neighbors cousin's best man made that much on the internet in just 3 days. Visit ww.bestbull_shit.communist

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:35 | 5558391 Overdrawn
Overdrawn's picture

He's got that idea from the Federal Reserve

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:38 | 5558399 I should be working
I should be working's picture

That's nothing.

I've made $73B in simulated trades.  I wish I could use the money to buy a 'simulated' house...

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:39 | 5558415 ncdirtdigger
ncdirtdigger's picture

You can. And if you go to the right parts of the interweb you can spend some on simulated hookers.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:38 | 5558411 ncdirtdigger
ncdirtdigger's picture

Was he stealing from Hillary's cattle futures account?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 11:53 | 5558450 I Write Code
I Write Code's picture

I knew it was fake because the real way to great wealth is speculating with Bitcoin!

Anybody remember Bitcoin?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 12:26 | 5558588 homiegot
homiegot's picture

Taliban infiltrators. Deport them.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 12:33 | 5558591 jaygould
jaygould's picture

the reporter,  jessica pressler, has been hired by bloomberg's investigative unit, i guess that means no fact-checking. can't wait for her articles from that perch. u really can't make this stuff up - life, once again, trips up fiction.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 17:47 | 5560196 khakuda
khakuda's picture

Like the garbage they print in Bloomberg Businessweek.  I wondered why the subscription was free, until I started reading it.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 12:29 | 5558598 pupdog1
pupdog1's picture

Its the Rule of the Bazaar. A cultural rule.

If someone is dumb enough to fall for my scam, they deserve to be taken.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 12:47 | 5558716 LFMayor
LFMayor's picture

Back in my day, all we had was Dungeons and Dragons and stacks of fucking grid paper.

Twerps like this were like plankton, bottom of the food chain.  Predated, heavily.

See what this goddam "everyone bats, everyone scores, everyone wins" has wrought?

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 12:54 | 5558743 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

I wish the caviar and apple juice where true though...

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:02 | 5558795 Spungo
Spungo's picture

"The fact that even one person believed this was possible shows how silly the entire "market" is."

 

I don't see why anyone would doubt it. Penny stock ponzi schemes are extremely profitable. You can even set specific return goals. For example, I'll buy a penny stock $1. I want a 50% return on this, so I'll immediately enter a sell order to sell everything at $1.50. With my order in place, I send out an email to my penny stock newsletter subscribers saying they should buy this stock. Boom, the price shoots up to $2 because the penny stock has no liquidity. Now imagine doing 50% returns like that every week. It compounds extremely fast. The downside is that doing this is illegal unless you bribe the right people.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:12 | 5558848 Lugnut
Lugnut's picture

Islam for Treasury Secretary!!

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:28 | 5558920 Heyoka
Heyoka's picture

I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. I cant believe a muzzie would ever lie about something.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:35 | 5558950 melpeexxx
melpeexxx's picture

The holy number 72 was established the times Muhammed climaxed in his harem on one evening. The virgins and boy investment fables tried to duplicate that glorious ecstasy.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:39 | 5558980 ItsDanger
ItsDanger's picture

Bankers must be lining up to hire this guy.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:39 | 5558981 sony1
sony1's picture

That's islam for ya.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:42 | 5559003 Sizzurp
Sizzurp's picture

The next Bagdad Bob.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 13:55 | 5559075 joego1
joego1's picture

A little taqiyya for the infidels.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 14:01 | 5559104 bamboojay
bamboojay's picture

He will be the next head of the Federal Reserve.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 15:15 | 5559466 SparticusUK
SparticusUK's picture

Quick kid, sell the movie rights.

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 16:22 | 5559781 draghithebearslayer
draghithebearslayer's picture

puts another meaning to "nothing good comes out of Islam"

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 18:03 | 5560265 cart00ner
cart00ner's picture

Good call Tyler (again)

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 18:46 | 5560472 Rootin' for Putin
Rootin' for Putin's picture

worthless fricking snackbar

Tue, 12/16/2014 - 21:40 | 5561111 assistedliving
assistedliving's picture

my son graduated STUY four years ago.  served on the Board of the PTA.  greatest group of youngsters i've ever encountered.

cheat like hell but thats what happens when NYBOE tenure puts senior teachers with kids smarter than they.  in some classes

the kids learn in spite of the teachers than from them

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