Matthew Perry’s Doctors and Assistant Charged For Providing Actor Ketamine

Authorities currently have five people, two of whom are doctors, in custody and facing federal charges in the accidental overdose death of actor Matthew Perry.

At a news conference on Thursday morning, officials announced that those arrested also included Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Jasveen Sangha, referred to as “The Ketamine Queen.” The Department of Justice states that Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, causing death. On the day Perry died, Iwamasa “repeatedly” injected the actor with the drug despite having no medical training.

Further into the ordeal, Sangha, along with Dr. Salvador Plascencia, will be arraigned later on August 15. People Magazine reported that “Sangha will be charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of operating a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute meth, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of ketamine distribution.”

The Los Angeles Police Department has been working with federal authorities for months to find the individuals who supplied Perry with the drug that killed him. Attorney Martin Estrada said, “They knew what they were doing was wrong.” Perry died at 54. He was found face-down and unresponsive in his hot tub in October of 2023. The medical examiner’s office said his death was a result of the acute effects of ketamine.

Ketamine has gained popularity in use for depression treatment, an affliction Perry publicly battled. He had been receiving infusions shortly before his death in an attempt to treat his symptoms. Officials noted that the ketamine found in Perry’s system at the time of his death was not that from the doctor-guided infusions, as they took place more than a week before.

Matthew Perry’s History of Addiction

According to TMZ, who first broke this developing story, authorities had search warrants to remove computers, phones, and other equipment in an effort to find answers. One warrant shows texts between Perry and an alleged supplier discussing the efforts to get Perry the drug in hand as well as what he was willing to pay for the drug. At the time of his death, Perry had been clean and sober for over a year and a half. He had gone through rehab 15 times.

Perry published the book Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing in 2022, where he openly talked about his years-long addiction habit, which he notes could be seen visually during certain seasons of Friends. He said, “I went to work in extreme cases of hangovers. It’s so horrible to feel that way and have to work and be funny on top of that. I was a little out of it at the time, somewhere between seasons 3 and 6.” His prescription addiction first started in 1997 as a result of a jet ski accident which left him in terrible pain.

Matthew Perry’s Rise to Fame

Perry rose to fame with his take on the pleasant character Chandler Bing on the NBC mega-hit Friends. Running ten seasons from 1994 to 2004,  at its peak, Friends was labeled “must-see TV,” which anchored NBC’s Thursday night viewing paired with fellow ratings giant Seinfeld. Friends helped to make all six actors on the series superstars, and in their A-list status, they could command a high payday, pulling in, very famously, $1 million an episode. At the time, that type of pay was unprecedented.