Richard Nguyen, also known as “Cheese” and “Cheeseburger,” was sentenced on April 1 in federal court in Boston to more than ten years in prison for his involvement in a drug distribution network that produced counterfeit methamphetamine pills labeled as Adderall. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy ordered Nguyen, 30, of Lowell, to serve 128 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
Nguyen’s sentencing follows his November 2025 conviction by a federal jury on two counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute at least 500 grams of methamphetamine and one count involving at least 50 grams. He was arrested and charged in January 2025.
Authorities began investigating the Asian Boyz gang’s activities in Lowell in 2021 due to concerns about large-scale production and sale of counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine. Between March 2022 and January 2025, Nguyen participated with others in selling these pills on at least forty-seven occasions to undercover officers and cooperating witnesses.
According to court documents, Nguyen sold approximately one thousand counterfeit Adderall pills during a first deal with a cooperating witness between January and April of the previous year, later doubling the quantity sold during subsequent transactions. Negotiations took place through an Instagram account under the name “Cheese,” where he set prices based on his own purchase costs.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the sentence alongside officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division and local police departments who assisted with the investigation. The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime through collaboration among law enforcement agencies and community organizations.
The prosecution was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred M. Wyshak III and Brendan D. O’Shea under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program.
