They actually do keep track of the top scores in the country on the CPA Exam. They've been doing it since 1924. Up until 2004 an "Elijah Watt Sells" award was given out to the top three scorers in the country. Nowadays they'll recognize a whole bunch of people in no particular order, but back in the day they used to give out a gold, silver, and bronze award for the top three scores. You can view a full list of winners here.
If you look at the winners from 1982 (exactly 31 years ago) someone named Joy Dianne Catalano from California had the second best score in the country. So looks like that claim is legitimate.
source: I ran a CPA Exam startup and know wayyy more than anyone ever should about the CPA exam
http://www.aicpa.org/BecomeACPA/CPAExam/ExamOverview/Downloa...
If you look at the winners from 1982 (exactly 31 years ago) someone named Joy Dianne Catalano from California had the second best score in the country. So looks like that claim is legitimate.
source: I ran a CPA Exam startup and know wayyy more than anyone ever should about the CPA exam