Five defendants, including two doctors

UPDATED with details of the indictment: Five defendants have been charged in connection with the ketamine-related death of actor Matthew Perry, US Attorney Martin Estrada announced on Thursday during a press conference in Los Angeles.

The five include a live-in assistant, two doctors and a woman known as the “ketamine queen.” Estrada says the defendants are part of a “broad underground criminal network” that supplied ketamine to Perry and others, Estrada said. He says the suspects “exploited Mr. Perry's addiction problems to enrich themselves
himself.”

Two of the five were arrested – Jasveen Sangha, 41, aka “The Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, aka “Dr. P,” of Santa Monica, Estrada said.

Both pleaded not guilty later in the day and were arraigned in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. U.S. Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar ordered Sangha detained (without bail) and set bail for Plasencia at $100,000. Plasencia's trial date is Oct. 8 and Sangha's Oct. 15, although the Justice Department said this afternoon it expects those dates to be consolidated “at some point in the near future.”

The others are Eric Fleming, 54, of Hawthorne, who pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death and, according to prosecutors, admitted to distributing the ketamine that killed Perry. Also charged are Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, of Toluca Lake, Perry's live-in assistant who is accused of conspiring with Sangha, Fleming and Plasencia to illegally obtain ketamine and distribute it to Perry, and Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, of San Diego, a physician who has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and admitted to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including ketamine diverted from his previous ketamine clinic.

“These defendants exploited Mr. Perry's addiction problems to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said.

According to the indictment unsealed today, Plasencia learned in late September 2023 that Perry, whose drug addiction history was well documented, was interested in ketamine. Plasencia taunted Perry in a text message in 2023, writing, “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay” and “Let's [sic] find out.”

Sangha sold the batch of ketamine responsible for Perry's death and charged $50,000 for about 50 vials, prosecutors said.

Perry was found in a hot tub and died at his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54. On December 15, 2023, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office stated that Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” The autopsy report also cited drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine – a drug used to treat opioid use disorder – as reasons for his death.

According to prosecutors, Perry received several injections on the day of his death from Iwamasa, his personal assistant who lived with him.

“It's very difficult to reconstruct this case,” a senior law enforcement source told Deadline on Thursday. “What happened today and what will be announced … there will likely be more arrests later.”

The more details become known about this case and Perry’s behavior in his final months, the more a different picture of the Friends Star, who insisted both in his recently published memoirs and publicly that he was pursuing a life of abstinence.

In May, an LAPD spokesperson told Deadline that the Drug Enforcement Administration had an open investigation into Perry's death.

The LAPD issued the following official statement in May:

“On October 28, 2023, the Los Angeles Police Department went to the residence of actor Matthew Perry to conduct a death investigation. On October 29, 2023, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Mr. Perry. On December 15, 2023, the results of the autopsy determined that Mr. Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine.” Based on the Medical Examiner's findings, the Los Angeles Police Department, with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Postal Inspection Service, has continued its investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Perry's death..“

Although many believed the multiple Emmy-nominated Canadian-American actor was sober at the time of his death, he had a long and well-documented history of battling alcohol and drug abuse. In fact, shortly before his death, Perry had spoken out loud about his struggles and desire to help others who were also battling addiction. He detailed his past and present struggles in his memoir, which became a best-seller in 2022. Friends, lovers and the big terrible thing.