‘Ketamine Queen’ accused of selling fatal dose to Matthew Perry agrees to plead guilty

The “Ketamine Queen,” a woman accused of supplying Matthew Perry the substance that killed him, entered a guilty plea on Monday.

By reaching a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and last defendant in the overdose death of the “Friends” star, preventing a trial that was originally scheduled for September.

According to a statement from federal prosecutors, she consented to enter a guilty plea to five federal criminal offenses, including supplying the ketamine that killed Perry.

Sangha, a 42-year-old American and British citizen, was portrayed by prosecutors as a successful drug dealer who was referred to by her clients as the “Ketamine Queen,” a moniker that was frequently used in news releases and court filings and even included in the case’s official name.

She consented to enter a guilty plea to three charges of ketamine distribution, one count of keeping a drug-involved establishment, and one count of ketamine distribution resulting in death or serious bodily damage.

In the contract, she acknowledged selling four ketamine vials to Cody McLaury, a guy who died in 2019 from an overdose. Perry was unrelated to McLaury.

Three more ketamine distribution counts and one methamphetamine distribution count that had nothing to do with the Perry case will be dropped by the prosecution.

At a future hearing, when sentencing will be decided, Sangha will formally enter a guilty plea, according to the prosecution. She faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in jail. Sangha’s lawyers did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

The investigation’s main targets had been her and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who on June 16 signed his own plea agreement. In exchange for their cooperation, which included allegations incriminating Sangha and Plasencia, three other defendants—Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming—agreed to enter a guilty plea last year.

Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, discovered Perry dead in his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. Ketamine, which is commonly used as a surgical anesthetic, was determined by the medical examiner to be the primary cause of death.

Through his usual physician, the actor had been taking the medication as an off-label, legal treatment for depression, a condition that is becoming more and more prevalent. The 54-year-old Perry wanted more ketamine than his physician would provide. About a month before his death, he started receiving it from Plasencia, and two weeks prior to his passing, he started receiving even more from Sangha, according to the prosecution.

Through Perry’s acquaintance Fleming, Iwamasa and Perry were able to locate Sangha. Both guys detailed the ensuing settlements in their plea agreements.

Iwamasa received a message from Fleming stating that Sangha’s ketamine was “unmarked but it’s amazing,” per court records. She exclusively works “with high end and celebrities,” Fleming texted Iwamasa. She would lose her business if the content wasn’t excellent.

Four days prior to his death, Perry paid $6,000 in cash to Sangha for a substantial quantity of ketamine, including 25 vials, with the two guys serving as intermediaries. Prosecutors said that the doses that killed Perry were part of that purchase.

According to her indictment, Sangha instructed Fleming to erase all of their correspondence on the day of Perry’s passing.

According to an agent’s affidavit, in March 2024, Drug Enforcement Administration officials raided her residence in North Hollywood, California, and discovered significant quantities of ketamine and methamphetamine. She was arrested in August after being indicted in June, and she has been detained ever since.

As of yet, none of the defendants have received a sentence.

From his days as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” when he rose to prominence as one of the biggest stars of his generation, Perry battled addiction for years. From 1994 to 2004, he costarred in ten seasons of NBC’s blockbuster show with Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer.