Jasveen Sangha, the woman known throughout Los Angeles circles as the "Ketamine Queen," has agreed to plead guilty to a raft of federal charges stemming from the overdose death of beloved "Friends" star Matthew Perry. Her plea, expected to be formally entered in the coming weeks, marks the final chapter in a sweeping federal investigation that has ensnared doctors, drug dealers, and even Perry's own assistant in a saga that has gripped Hollywood and beyond.
According to the BBC and the U.S. Department of Justice, Sangha, 42, will plead guilty to five charges: one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. The maximum penalty she faces is a staggering 60 years in federal prison, though sentencing guidelines and prosecutorial recommendations may ultimately lead to a lesser term. Still, even the minimum sentence discussed in court documents is at least 11 years behind bars.
Sangha's plea brings closure to a case that began with Perry's sudden death on October 28, 2023. The actor, who was 54, was discovered unresponsive in the backyard jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home. The county medical examiner found that Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine, a powerful dissociative anesthetic that, while used legally for medical purposes, has found a growing illicit market among celebrities and partygoers. As Variety and ABC News report, Perry's struggles with addiction were well-documented, dating back to his days as Chandler Bing on NBC's "Friends," a role that made him a household name from 1994 to 2004.
The federal investigation revealed a tangled web of suppliers and enablers. Prosecutors say Sangha worked with Erik Fleming, a 55-year-old from Hawthorne, to distribute ketamine to Perry through Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's 60-year-old live-in personal assistant. In the weeks leading up to Perry's death, Sangha and Fleming sold 51 vials of ketamine to Iwamasa, who then injected Perry with at least three shots of the drug on the day he died. Iwamasa has since pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and is scheduled for sentencing in November 2025. Fleming, too, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and distribution resulting in death, with sentencing also set for this November.
In court filings, prosecutors detailed how, after Perry's death, Sangha called Fleming on the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss deleting their communications and "how to distance themselves" from the incident. "Delete all our messages," she instructed, according to the Justice Department. Two days later, Fleming left Sangha a voicemail saying, "I'm 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry]. Only his Assistant. So the Assistant was the enabler." These attempts to cover their tracks ultimately failed, as investigators pieced together the chain of custody that led to Perry's fatal dose.
Sangha's legal troubles do not end with the Perry case. In her plea agreement, she admitted to selling ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, in August 2019. McLaury died of an overdose just hours after purchasing four vials from Sangha. Authorities say she used her North Hollywood residence as a "drug-selling emporium" and "stash house" since at least 2019. During a March 2024 raid, federal agents found 79 vials of liquid ketamine, MDMA tablets, counterfeit Xanax pills, methamphetamine, cocaine, and even a gold money-counting machine. According to the BBC, her home was described in indictments as a hub for packaging and distributing drugs to a clientele that included high-end and celebrity customers.
Sangha's social media presence, as reported by AP and BBC, painted a picture of a glamorous lifestyle—attending the Golden Globes and Oscars, jet-setting to Japan and Mexico, and mingling with the rich and famous. But behind the scenes, prosecutors say, she was a prolific dealer who exploited the vulnerabilities of those struggling with addiction.
The investigation also exposed the roles of medical professionals in Perry's tragic end. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, one of Perry's doctors, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distributing ketamine, admitting he supplied the actor with the drug but not the fatal doses. Plasencia's attorney, Karen Goldstein, said, "Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry. He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution." His sentencing is set for December 3, 2025. Dr. Mark Chavez, another physician, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and will be sentenced on September 17, 2025.
The legal fallout has been swift and severe. All five defendants—Sangha, Fleming, Iwamasa, Plasencia, and Chavez—have now pleaded guilty to various charges related to Perry's death. None has yet been sentenced, and the judge is not bound by the terms of any plea agreement. Prosecutors announced they will ask for less than the maximum penalty for Sangha, but the final decision rests with the court.
Sangha's lawyer, Mark Geragos, told multiple outlets, including the BBC and AP, that "she's taking responsibility for her actions." As part of her plea, Sangha has agreed not to contest the seizure of her assets, including more than $5,000 in cash found during the investigation. Prosecutors will also drop three other counts related to ketamine distribution and one count of methamphetamine distribution unrelated to the Perry case.
The case has shone a harsh light on the "wild west" of Hollywood's ketamine network. According to the BBC, Perry had begun using ketamine as a legal, off-label treatment for depression—a practice that has become more common in recent years. But when his regular doctor would not provide more, Perry turned to other sources, first obtaining ketamine from Dr. Plasencia and then, in the final weeks of his life, from Sangha via introductions from Fleming and Iwamasa. Fleming once described Sangha's product as "unmarked but it's amazing," adding that she "only deals with high end and celebs. If it were not great stuff she'd lose her business." Four days before his death, Perry purchased 25 vials for $6,000 in cash; those vials included the doses that killed him.
Ketamine, as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration notes, is a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. It can distort perception and induce a sense of detachment from reality. Medically, it's used for anesthesia in humans and animals, but its street use has skyrocketed, leading to a growing number of overdoses and deaths.
Perry's death, and the criminal prosecutions that followed, have forced a reckoning in Hollywood and among federal authorities about the dangers of unchecked ketamine distribution. The case reveals not only the vulnerabilities of those struggling with addiction but also the complex network of suppliers, enablers, and medical professionals who exploited those weaknesses for profit. As sentencing looms for all involved, the story stands as a stark reminder that even the most glittering lives can be upended by the shadows of addiction and the relentless pursuit of profit.
