In October, the world was shocked when Friends star Matthew Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his L.A. home. An autopsy report later revealed that Perry, 54, had died from the “acute effects” of ketamine. On Thursday, the New York Times reported that five people have been charged in connection with Perry’s death, including his personal assistant and two doctors.
The indictment also includes charges against Jasveen Sangha, a woman prosecutors refer to as “the Ketamine Queen” and who they allege sold Perry around 50 vials of ketamine for $11,000, including those that led to his death. When police searched Sangha’s residence, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said they found “a drug-selling emporium” with close to 80 vials of ketamine and thousands of pills including meth, cocaine, and Xanax and other prescription drugs.
Per the indictment, prosecutors allege that Sangha, 41, has been selling unmarked vials of ketamine, referred to as “Dr. Pepper,” out of her North Hollywood residence since at least 2019. Prosecutors claim someone in her network had bragged to a potential buyer via text that Sangha “only deals with high-end celebs,” insisting that if her product wasn’t “great stuff she’d lose her business.” Authorities also noted that Sangha called whoever she got her ketamine from “Master Chef” and “Scientist.”
According to court documents, after initially seeking ketamine — a dissociative anesthetic — treatment for mental-health purposes, Perry began asking doctors to up his prescriptions. When his clinicians declined to do so, prosecutors claim Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, began procuring ketamine from outside sources, including Sangha, in October 2023. Prosecutors claim Erik Fleming, one of Perry’s acquaintances who is also named as a defendant, coordinated the drug deal by bringing cash from Iwamasa to Sangha’s “stash house” in North Hollywood. According to the indictment, on the day news broke of Perry’s death, Sangha texted Fleming, “Delete all our messages.”
“We allege each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling, or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death,” DEA administrator Anne Milgram said in a Department of Justice statement. “Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials.” According to the DOJ, Sangha is charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine as well as “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.”
“These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being,” said Estrada. “Drug dealers selling dangerous substances are gambling with other people’s lives over greed. This case, along with our many other prosecutions of drug dealers who cause death, send a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”
The BBC reports that this is not the first time Sangha has been connected to a ketamine-related death. In August 2019, Sangha allegedly sold ketamine to Cody McLaury hours before he overdosed. According to the DOJ, when one of McLaury’s family members texted Sangha letting her know the ketamine she’d sold McLaury had killed him, Sangha then Googled: “Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death?”
According to ABC News, Sangha was arraigned at a federal courthouse in Los Angeles on Thursday, where she pleaded not guilty. She was denied bond, and her next hearing is set for October 15. If convicted, Sangha faces between ten years and life in prison.
The Cut has reached out to Sangha’s representatives for comment and will update this post when we hear back.
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