A woman known as the “ketamine queen” has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to the supply of ketamine that killed Friends star Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sangha, the fifth and final defendant charged in the actor's death, will change her plea from not guilty at an upcoming hearing, avoiding a trial scheduled for August.
Sangha, 41, was indicted in June last year and arrested in August alongside four other defendants, including Perry’s personal assistant and two doctors. Prosecutors alleged she was a prolific drug dealer who sold ketamine to high-end clients. The indictment against her included charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining a drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine. She faces up to 45 years in prison.
Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on 28 October 2023. The medical examiner ruled ketamine as the primary cause of death. The actor had been using the drug legally for depression but began purchasing additional supplies from Dr Salvador Plasencia and then from Sangha in the weeks before his death.
Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and friend Erik Fleming acted as middlemen. According to court documents, Fleming told Iwamasa that Sangha’s ketamine was “unmarked but it’s amazing” and that she only dealt with “high end and celebs”. Four days before his death, Perry bought 25 vials of ketamine from Sangha for $6,000 in cash, which included the doses that killed him.
On the day of Perry’s death, Sangha allegedly told Fleming to delete all their messages. Her home was raided by Drug Enforcement Administration agents in March 2024, who found large amounts of methamphetamine and ketamine. Sangha is the final defendant to plead guilty, following Dr Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming, who agreed to cooperate with prosecutors last year.
