Donovan Lamb is a fictional character from the Netflix series “Inventing Anna”, based on the true story of Anna Sorokin, a con artist who pretended to be a wealthy German heiress. Donovan Lamb is portrayed as a young man who claimed to have made $80 million from stock trading and was interviewed by Vivian Kent, a journalist who was also investigating Anna’s fraud. However, Donovan later admitted that his story was a lie and that Vivian encouraged him to exaggerate his claims. But who is the real person behind Donovan Lamb story, and what happened? In this article, we will explore Donovan Lamb Story.

Donovan Lamb Story:

Donovan Lamb story is loosely based on the real story of Mohammed Islam, a 17-year-old high school student who falsely claimed to have made $72 million from stock trading in an interview with Jessica Pressler, a journalist who wrote the original article about Anna Sorokin for New York Magazine.

According to reports, Mohammed Islam was a senior at Stuyvesant High School, a prestigious public school in New York City. He was interested in finance and trading, and he joined the school’s investment club, where he learned to use a simulated trading platform. He also befriended other aspiring traders, such as Damir Tulemaganbetov and Patrick Trablusi, who helped him create the fake persona of a successful stock trader.

In December 2014, Jessica Pressler was working on a list of reasons to love New York for New York Magazine, and she heard a rumor about a teenage stock trader who had made millions of dollars. She contacted Mohammed Islam and interviewed him for her article. Mohammed told her that he had started trading penny stocks when he was nine years old and had amassed a fortune of $72 million. He also showed her his bank statements, which were later revealed to be forged. He also took her to a lavish dinner, spending over $400.

Jessica Pressler wrote and published the article on December 14, 2014, under the title “Reasons to Love New York: No. 12: Because a Stuyvesant Senior Made $72 Million Trading Stocks on His Lunch Break”. The article went viral and attracted a lot of attention and curiosity. However, the next day, Mohammed Islam confessed to the New York Observer that he had lied about his story and had never traded real money. He said that he had exaggerated his claims to impress his friends and the journalist and regretted his actions.

The revelation caused a lot of backlash and criticism, both for Mohammed Islam and Jessica Pressler. Mohammed Islam was suspended from his school, and he faced legal troubles and death threats. Jessica Pressler was accused of being irresponsible and unethical and of failing to verify Mohammed Islam’s claims. She defended herself by saying that she had been skeptical and cautious and indicated in her article that the story was based on rumors and gossip.

Conclusion

Donovan Lamb story is a fictionalized version of the real story of Mohammed Islam, a teenage stock trader who lied about his wealth and success, and who was interviewed by Jessica Pressler, a journalist who wrote the original article about Anna Sorokin. The story shows how Vivian Kent, who is based on Jessica Pressler, is affected by Donovan Lamb’s scandal, and how it relates to her investigation of Anna Sorokin’s frauds.