“Ketamine Queen” sentenced to 15 years in prison in connection with Matthew Perry’s death
Jasveen Sangha, the woman prosecutors call the “Ketamine Queen,” was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison during a hearing in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday, after pleading guilty to federal drug charges last year in connection with the 2023 death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.
The sentencing comes after Sangha, 42 of North Hollywood, pleaded guilty last September to three counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises.
“For years… Sangha operated a high-volume drug trade out of his North Hollywood residence,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “To cultivate his business, [Sangha] presented itself as an exclusive reseller aimed at a high-level Hollywood clientele… While [Sangha] worked to expand and profit from her drug dealing, she knew – and failed to consider – the serious harm her conduct was causing. »
By pleading guilty, Sangha admitted to providing the drugs that caused Perry’s death. She also admitted to directing her co-conspirators to delete all incriminating text messages and to arranging drug transactions and distributions.
The dual American and British citizen was taken into federal custody in August 2024.
Perry, best known for his portrayal of Chandler Bing on “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, was found dead by his assistant in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home on October 28, 2023. The autopsy report revealed that he died from the “acute effects of ketamine”, with contributing factors of “drowning, coronary heart disease and effects of buprenorphine”.
His death was ruled accidental.
Sangha is the third person to be convicted in this case.
Salvador Plasencia, a former doctor, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison for illegally distributing ketamine to Perry and his assistant. A second doctor, Mark Chavez, was sentenced two weeks later to three years of supervised release with special conditions of eight months of home confinement and sentenced to perform 300 hours of community service. Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Two sentencing hearings remain related to Perry’s case, both scheduled for the end of the month.
Perry’s former live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 60 of Toluca Lake, is scheduled to be sentenced April 22. He purchased the drugs and repeatedly injected them into Perry, including the three ketamine injections that led to his death on Oct. 28, 2023, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and faces a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.
Erik Fleming, 55 of Hawthorne, acted as an intermediary between Sangha and Iwamasa, according to prosecutors. Fleming sent a text message to Sangha two days after Perry’s death, saying he was “90 percent sure everyone was protected” and that Iwamasa “was the enabler” for Perry. He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Fleming faces up to 25 years in federal prison.
