Maybe, maybe not. I would place the blame with the original reporter for not fact-checking or even briefly considering the feasibility of the whole story.
Personally, I think the kid demonstrated terrific chutzpah and that this is nothing but a youthful indiscretion. Think of all the dumb shit you did as a teenager.
I completely agree with you on the reporter, definitely their fault for not checking facts.
Ask yourself this question, would you trust your money to a person who has already lied about their performance?
Trust any good sized firm has compliance on your ass about your online presence and this will come up in an interview if they do any little bit of research on this kid.
Lying maybe chutzpah in your world but in the financial services world its grounds for law suits. Dont get me wrong this could help him in the finance world but it probably wont be in a client facing role. All it would take is a litigious client to lose money and know about this and boom, potential law suit as they feel this guy is untrustworthy.