A cadre of people linked to Matthew Perry – including doctors and North Hollywood’s alleged “Ketamine Queen” – took advantage of his vulnerability as a recovering addict and supplied the beloved actor with the drug that would ultimately kill him, prosecutors say.
Now, five people are charged in connection with Perry’s death.
Perry, who starred as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” died last October at age 54. His body was found floating face down in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home. He died from “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning, according to an autopsy report.
Perry had detailed his decades-long struggles with drug addiction in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” He wrote that he started abusing prescription medication after he was involved in a jet ski accident on the set of the film “Fools Rush In” in 1997 and was prescribed Vicodin.
Investigators believe Perry “fell back into addiction” last fall, US Attorney Martin Estrada said in announcing the charges Thursday.
And a network of people “cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” Estrada said.
‘I wonder how much this moron will pay?’
Two doctors – Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez – worked to supply Perry with ketamine, Estrada said.
“Defendant Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit off of Mr. Perry,” Estrada said.
Last September – one month before Perry’s death – Plasencia learned that?Perry?was interested in purchasing ketamine and contacted Chavez, according to court documents.
In a September 2023 text message, Estrada said, Plasencia wrote: “I wonder how much this moron will pay?”
Plasencia also wrote that he wanted to be Perry’s sole supplier, Estrada said.
Over the next several weeks, prosecutors said, Plasencia purchased ketamine from Chavez, sold vials of ketamine to?Perry’s assistant and taught the assistant how to administer the drugs.
Plasencia also went to?Perry’s house to drop off ketamine and even injected the drug for?Perry?in the back of a vehicle in a parking lot, prosecutors said.
On October 12, Plasencia “administered a large dose” to Perry that caused an “adverse medical reaction,” prosecutors said in court documents. Perry’s systolic blood pressure spiked, and he froze up, unable to speak or move, prosecutors said.
By mid-October, Erik Fleming – another person close to?Perry – started reaching out to an alleged drug dealer to buy vials of ketamine on Perry’s behalf, authorities said.
From September to October 2023, Perry was given “approximately 20 vials of Ketamine” that cost him roughly $55,000, the federal prosecutor said.
Defendant Jasveen Sangha, whom authorities call the “Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, ran what amounted to “a drug selling emporium” in her home, Estrada said.
Fleming said he obtained ketamine from Sangha and distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, prosecutors said.
And Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, injected the actor with ketamine despite having no medical training, Estrada said.
During the final week of Perry’s life, Iwamasa injected him with at least 21 shots of ketamine, according to an indictment. Authorities said Iwamasa “performed multiple injections on Perry on October 28, 2023 – the day Perry died.”
Perry’s assistant injected him at 8:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m. on the day of his death, according to Iwamasa’s plea agreeement. About 40 minutes later, Perry asked Iwamasa to prepare a jacuzzi and said, “Shoot me up with a big one,” according to the court document.
After Perry’s death, Fleming and Sangha tried to delete messages showing they had sold drugs to?him, court documents state.
According to prosecutors, Fleming texted Sangha and said he was “90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with (Matthew Perry). Only his Assistant. So the Assistant was the enabler.”
The suspects enter pleas to the charges
Plasencia pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation. His attorney told CNN affiliate KCAL/KCBS there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations against the doctor.
“Mr. Perry was on ketamine treatment. Medically supervised, medically prescribed. And while the US attorney may disagree with Dr. Plasencia’s medical judgment, there was nothing criminal at the time,” attorney Stefan Sacks told the affiliate. “More importantly, the ketamine that was involved in Mr. Perry’s passing was not related to Dr. Plasencia.” CNN has reached out to Plasencia’s attorney for comment.
Chavez, the other doctor charged, “has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine,” prosecutors said.
“Due to the ongoing nature of the case out of the Central District, neither Mark Chavez nor myself will be making any statements at this time,” his attorney Matthew Binninger told CNN.
The Medical Board of California is aware of the federal charges against Plasencia and Chavez and is also investigating them, but no restrictions have been imposed on them, board spokesperson Alexandria Schembra said in an email to CNN.
Sangha, the alleged “Ketamine Queen,” has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine. CNN has reached out to her attorney for comment.
Fleming, who said he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. An attorney for Fleming declined to comment.
And Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, the US attorney’s office said. CNN has reached out to Iwamasa’s attorney for comment.
‘We were and still are heartbroken’
News about the suspects’ charges brought a bit of relief to the family of Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, a longtime “Dateline NBC” correspondent.
“We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously,” the Morrison family said in a statement obtained by CNN.
“We look forward to justice taking its course and we’re grateful for the exceptional work of the multiple agencies whose agents investigated Matthew’s death. We’re hoping unscrupulous suppliers of dangerous drugs will get the message.”
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz, Dan Heching, Scott Glover, John Miller, Lisa Respers France, Cheri Mossburg, Kelly McCleary, Christina Zdanowicz, Taylor Romine and Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.