Milliarden Mike / Billions Mike

Autumn 2010 in Lübeck-Moisling: “Billions Mike” escapes from the prison officers who have accompanied him to his half-sister's barbecue party. Born in Lübeck, Peter Mike Wappler made a career for himself in Hamburg's red-light district with sham transactions and fraud. The tabloid nicknamed the razzle-dazzle con man with a penchant for boxing matches “Billions Mike”. Mike spent a total of almost 20 years in prison. The film accompanies him during his first year of freedom and his attempts to promote the “Billions Mike” brand and launch new schemes. Mike’s stories about himself and his life are the thread weaving the film together, with staged flashbacks, archival footage, and interviews with companions. Suspended in the grey area between reality and fiction, it is a fast-paced journey in the search for truth that takes us deep into the life of the self-proclaimed ‘king of the swindlers’, whose talent was an ability to make his claims seem true.