'Ketamine Queen', 4 others charged for 'Friends' actor Mathew Perry's death

Five people have been charged for allegedly supplying ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry who died in 2023.  

As per federal officials in Los Angeles, the five individuals, who have been charged, exploited the actor’s drug addiction for profit which led to his death due to overdose.  

The charges announced on Thursday come after the investigators say they have uncovered an underground network of drug sellers and suppliers who they allege are responsible for distributing the ketamine, a potentially deadly drug, that killed Perry. His body was found in his luxurious Los Angeles home last year.

Martin Estrada, the US Attorney for the central district of California said that in the fall of 2023, Perry, who has struggled with addiction in the past, “fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves."  

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“These defendants took advantage of Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong. They knew what they were doing was risking great danger to Perry, but they did it anyway,” Estrada said.  

“These defendants were more interested in profiting off Perry than caring for his well-being,” Estrada further said.  

Who are the 5 people charged in connection to Matthew Perry’s death?

The charges have been levied against two doctors, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, a broker and a North Hollywood dealer known as “the Ketamine Queen,” who has been linked to the overdose death of another man.

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The US Attorney said that three of the five charged have reached a plea agreement, while the other two defendants Dr Salvador Plasencia, 42, a licensed medical doctor from Santa Monica, California, known as “Dr P.” and Jasveen Sangha, 41, allegedly known as “the ketamine Queen” who Estrada said ran what amounted to “a drug selling emporium” in her home, were indicted on Wednesday.

According to the Department of Justice the three others who have been separately charged in the case include Dr Mark Chavez, 54, a licensed medical doctor who admitted in court documents to selling ketamine to Plasencia; Eric Fleming, 54, who admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry; and Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, who admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the hit TV sitcom “Friends” from 1994 to 2004, was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. He was 54.

An autopsy found the cause of his death was “the acute effects of ketamine,” a controlled drug the recovering addict was taking as part of supervised therapy.

20 vials of drug sold over two months for $55,000

Estrada said that the five people charged on Thursday sold Perry 20 vials of the drug for over two months for $55,000. Each one cost them as little as $12.  

In one text message, Plasencia, 42, wrote: “I wonder how much this moron will pay… Lets [sic] find out."

Plasencia, who reportedly works in the tony Calabasas neighborhood outside Los Angeles, knew Perry was spiralling out of control, but carried on.

“On one occasion, he injected Perry with ketamine, and he saw Perry freeze up and his blood pressure spike. Despite that, he left additional vials of ketamine for (Perry’s assistant Kenneth) Iwamasa to administer,” Estrada said.

Perry also obtained the drug from Jasveen Sangha through broker Eric Fleming, including the batch that would ultimately kill him.

As per officials, Jasveen’s home was “a drug-selling emporium” containing methamphetamine, cocaine and prescription drugs like Xanax.