Caption: Matthew Perry was found drowned in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28.Article information
- Author, Leire Ventas
- Title of the author, BBC News World Correspondent in Los Angeles
- Twitter, @leire_ventas
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August 16, 2024
“They took advantage of Matthew Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves.”
That’s what Martin Estrada, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, said Thursday about the five people who have so far been charged in connection with the death of Matthew Perry, remembered as Chandler Bing from the series Friends, on October 28.
An autopsy determined the cause of death was “acute effects of ketamine,” a controlled substance that Perry, a recovering addict, was taking as part of supervised therapy.
“They were more interested in profiting from Mr. Perry than in looking after his well-being,” the prosecutor said of the individuals, who, among others, face charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, distribution resulting in death and falsifying records during a federal investigation.
But what is known about Jasveen Sangha, also known as the “Queen of Ketamine,” and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who were arrested on Thursday? And what about the other three defendants so far, including another doctor and the actor’s personal assistant?
The queen of a “drug-selling empire”
Although her nickname makes it clear that she was well-known in certain circles, few details have emerged about Jasveen Sangha, “the ketamine queen,” at the time of this article’s publication.
The 41-year-old woman lived in North Hollywood, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, according to the indictment made public Thursday.
And it was precisely during a raid on that house where, after months of investigation, the police found a “stash” of ketamine and other substances and what prosecutor Estrada called a “drug sales emporium.”
During the operation carried out on March 19, they seized 79 capsules of liquid ketamine, almost 2,000 methamphetamine pills, hallucinogenic mushrooms, cocaine and prescription drugs that were apparently obtained fraudulently.
Investigators also found a green journal detailing the amounts of the purchase and sale of the substances, transactions worth thousands of dollars.
“The investigation revealed a vast clandestine criminal network to distribute large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others,” said prosecutor Estrada at a press conference.
Image source, Reuters
Photo caption: The indictment was filed in federal court on Wednesday.
Sangha, who according to the investigation “only dealt with wealthy and famous people” and had been in the business since at least June 2019, was then charged with possession of methamphetamine, to which she pleaded not guilty.
And now she is the main defendant in the case, as she is accused of having sold 50 vials of ketamine worth up to US$11,000 to Perry, including the batch that ended up causing his death.
Authorities describe her as a “dealer” who knew the ketamine she was distributing could be deadly.
And they base that on a case unrelated to Perry in which Sangha sold the drug to a person named Cody McLaury hours before she died of an overdose.
After a relative of McLaury’s texted Sangha alleging she caused his death, the alleged trafficker, according to the indictment, Googled “Can ketamine be listed as a cause of death?”
According to the indictment, even knowing the answer, the woman continued selling the substance from her North Hollywood residence.
Authorities have said he will also face charges in the McLaury case.
Two doctors and “old acquaintances”
According to authorities, Perry’s addiction to ketamine led him to try to acquire the substance through health professionals, “dealers” like Sangha and street dealers, always looking for the best price.
Along those lines, the other main defendant in the case is Salvador Plasencia, also known as “Dr. P”, an emergency doctor.
He reportedly worked to obtain ketamine for Perry despite knowing the actor had a long history of substance abuse.
That’s according to the indictment, which was filed in federal court on Wednesday, as the investigation into the alleged ring continues and more developments could emerge in the coming weeks or months.
It details that when the doctor texted a colleague asking how much he would charge the Friends actor for the drug, he also wrote: “I wonder how much this moron is willing to pay. Let’s find out.”
The colleague in question is believed to be Mark Chavez, the other doctor allegedly involved in the plot and described as a “co-conspirator.”
According to the court document, on October 10, 2023, Plasencia allegedly bought 10 vials of ketamine from Chavez for Perry, and injected him with the drug in his vehicle, in a public parking lot in Long Beach, another California coastal town.
Two days later, Perry was given another dose at his home in the Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, one so large that it left him “paralyzed” and caused his blood pressure to skyrocket.
Image source, Courtesy of the U.S. District Court.
Caption: Part of the stash seized by police during a March raid on the North Hollywood home of “the ketamine queen.”
According to authorities, Plasencia and Chavez are old acquaintances, one of them said in a social media post referenced by The New York Times.
In fact, Plasencia describes him on LinkedIn as her “mentor for 15 years,” someone who was “extremely helpful as I navigated my own path as a physician entrepreneur.”
Chavez describes himself online as a “longevity coach, medical entrepreneur and fitness pioneer.”
He is the medical director of a company specializing in regenerative medicine, whose website offers, among other things, a 12-week weight loss program with drugs such as Ozempic.
The personal assistant and a friend
But in addition to the two doctors, Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, is also named in the indictment.
Iwamasa is 59 years old and his LinkedIn page describes him as “executive assistant with general manager responsibilities for client Matthew Perry for 25 years.”
According to the prosecution, he not only witnessed doctors administer ketamine to Perry on numerous occasions, he also injected it himself.
He did so without medical training and “knowing little, if anything, about the administration and/or treatment of patients with controlled substances,” the court documents said.
Iwamasa injected the actor with at least 27 doses of ketamine in the five days prior to his death, including the last three doses administered on that fateful October 28.
Image source, Courtesy of the U.S. District Court.
Caption: A text message allegedly sent by Eric Fleming to Matthew Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, showing him the glass vials of ketamine.
He is one of three defendants who have already pleaded guilty to the corresponding charges.
Specifically, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
Eric Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry’s who was also involved in the plot, also followed suit and pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to authorities, he admitted to having acquired ketamine for Perry through the “dealer” Sangha, and to having provided 50 vials of the drug to Iwamasa.
Following Perry’s death, Sangha reportedly asked Fleming to delete all messages from the Signal app through which they had communicated, which is why the defendants also face charges related to obstructing a federal investigation.
Image source, Reuters
What are the detainees accused of?
In total, there are 23 charges, and they are as follows, according to the Department of Justice:
- Jasveen Sangha, aka “The Ketamine Queen”: One count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-related 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.
- Salvador Plasencia: 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.
- Eric Fleming: Pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. Fleming admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry. He admitted to obtaining the ketamine from his source, Sangha, and distributing 50 vials of ketamine to Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, with half of them delivered four days before Perry’s death.
- Kenneth Iwamasa: Perry’s live-in personal assistant conspired with Sangha, Fleming and Plasencia to illegally obtain ketamine and give it to Perry. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death and admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including administering multiple injections to the actor on the day of his death.
- Mark Chavez: A doctor who agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He admitted in his plea agreement to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including ketamine he had diverted from his former clinic.
Image source, Reuters
Caption: Martin Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said Thursday that the five defendants took advantage of Matthew Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves.
The Los Angeles Police Department acknowledged in May that it was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to determine the source of the ketamine that killed Perry.
If convicted, Sangha, the “Ketamine Queen,” could face between 10 years and life in prison, while Dr. Plasencia could face up to 10 years in prison for each ketamine-related charge and up to 20 years for each falsifying records charge.
Iwamasa could also end up spending up to 15 years behind bars, and Dr. Chavez, who is scheduled to be arraigned on August 30, faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
“We are sending a clear message,” said Attorney General Estrada during a press conference in downtown Los Angeles.
“If you are in the business of selling dangerous drugs, we will hold you accountable for the deaths you cause.”
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