The End of the “Ketamine Queen”: Jasveen Sangha Admits Guilt in Fatal Drug Conspiracy That Claimed Matthew Perry’s Life and Rocked Hollywood

For months, speculation swirled in Hollywood and across America about who was truly responsible for the sudden, shocking death of Friends star Matthew Perry.

Now, the mystery has a name and a face: Jasveen Sangha, the woman prosecutors labeled the “Ketamine Queen.”

Her decision to plead guilty to federal charges—including distribution of ketamine resulting in death—marks the final chapter in a harrowing case that exposed Hollywood’s dangerous underworld of designer drugs, celebrity addiction, and reckless profiteering.

But this case is about far more than a famous actor’s overdose.

It is a window into how an underground network of doctors, dealers, and enablers quietly fed Perry’s addiction until it claimed his life.

The guilty plea is both shocking and inevitable.

And yet, for Perry’s fans, the bigger question lingers: How could a man who spoke openly about his struggles with sobriety—who authored a bestselling memoir detailing his recovery—fall prey once again to the same demons, with deadly consequences?

A Star’s Tragic Ending in a Hollywood Hills Jacuzzi

On October 28, 2023, the world woke up to devastating news.

Matthew Perry, forever immortalized as the witty and neurotic Chandler Bing on NBC’s Friends, had been found dead in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home.

He was only 54 years old.

At first, whispers of relapse and speculation about prescription misuse filled tabloids.

But within weeks, a bombshell autopsy revealed the true cause: acute effects of ketamine.

Perry had not drowned.

He had not suffered from natural causes.

He had been injected with high doses of a powerful anesthetic—doses prosecutors would later argue were lethal.

For those who followed Perry’s lifelong battle with substance abuse, it was a gut punch.

Here was a man who had seemingly fought his way out of the abyss, publicly advocating for recovery and using his platform to support others struggling with addiction.

Yet behind the scenes, he had been ensnared in a darker network that would ultimately lead to his death.

Enter the “Ketamine Queen”

Prosecutors allege that network revolved around Jasveen Sangha.

At 42 years old, Sangha cultivated an image of a glamorous, untouchable supplier in Hollywood’s party scene.

Known in underground circles as the “Ketamine Queen,” she specialized in selling vials of liquid ketamine—a drug increasingly abused recreationally for its hallucinogenic properties.

Sangha wasn’t just a casual dealer.

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), she ran a full-fledged narcotics hub from her North Hollywood home, where authorities later found 79 vials of ketamine, methamphetamine, a money-counting machine, and distribution materials.

Her clientele, prosecutors allege, included actors, producers, and others who had the money to pay for her steady supply of dangerous anesthetics.

But Sangha’s case wasn’t just about one celebrity.

In her plea agreement, she admitted to selling ketamine in connection with another overdose death in 2019.

That victim, Cody McLaury, died just hours after buying four vials from her.

Far from an isolated incident, Perry’s case was part of a broader pattern of reckless distribution.

How the Ketamine Reached Matthew Perry

Court documents paint a chilling timeline.

In October 2023, Sangha and her associate, Erik Fleming, sold 51 vials of ketamine to Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

It wasn’t Perry himself who made the purchase—but rather the people surrounding him who enabled his usage.

On the night of his death, Iwamasa admitted to injecting Perry with at least three doses of Sangha’s ketamine.

Within hours, Perry was dead.

To make matters worse, prosecutors revealed that immediately after the actor’s death, Sangha and Fleming scrambled to cover their tracks.

Using the encrypted app Signal, Sangha urged Fleming to “delete all our messages.” Fleming, panicked, left her a voicemail saying:

“I’m 90% sure everyone is protected.

I never dealt with Perry.

Only his Assistant.

So the Assistant was the enabler.”

This attempt at distancing themselves only further implicated them, prosecutors argued.

A Web of Guilty Pleas

Sangha’s guilty plea is the last domino to fall in a case that swept up five individuals in Perry’s death.

Kenneth Iwamasa (60), Perry’s live-in personal assistant, admitted to injecting the fatal doses.
He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.
Erik Fleming (55), who helped Sangha supply Perry, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Dr.Salvador Plasencia, a licensed physician, admitted to four counts of ketamine distribution, providing doses to Iwamasa (though not the fatal batch).
Dr.Mark Chavez, another doctor, admitted to conspiring to distribute ketamine and faces a 10-year prison sentence.

With Sangha’s plea, all five have now confessed to their roles in Perry’s demise.

Her charges are the most severe: one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution, and one count of distribution resulting in death.

Each carries decades in prison.

Why This Case Matters

This isn’t just about Matthew Perry.

It’s about the growing shadow market for ketamine, a drug once reserved for medical anesthesia that has since exploded in recreational use.

In recent years, ketamine has been touted as a treatment for depression in controlled clinical settings.

But outside medical supervision, it is lethal.

For Hollywood elites, the drug became both a recreational escape and, in some circles, a misguided form of self-medication.

Perry, who had long spoken about battling depression and addiction, may have seen ketamine as both relief and release.

The Sangha case underscores how blurred those lines became.

Licensed doctors, rogue suppliers, and personal assistants all played roles in feeding Perry’s addiction.

It is a cautionary tale not only about celebrity excess but also about a booming underground trade that exploits vulnerable individuals under the guise of “treatment.”

The Public Fascination: Why We Can’t Look Away

Why does this case captivate so much public attention?

Part of it is Perry himself.

Fans of Friends grew up with him.

Chandler Bing wasn’t just a sitcom character; he was a cultural touchstone, the voice of sarcasm, humor, and relatability for an entire generation.

His death felt personal.

But part of it is also the narrative of betrayal.

Perry wasn’t found in a nightclub overdose scenario.

He died in his own home, injected by people he trusted—his assistant, his doctors, his suppliers.

The very circle that should have protected him instead became the machinery of his undoing.

For Hollywood watchers, the case reveals an ugly truth: behind the glamorous image, there is a supply chain of addiction, one that doesn’t discriminate between struggling actors and megastars.

Sangha’s Future: Decades Behind Bars

So what happens now?

Sangha’s plea deal spares her the spectacle of a lengthy trial, but it does not spare her from devastating consequences.

She faces multiple decades in prison.

Federal sentencing guidelines for distribution resulting in death are among the harshest, and judges are rarely lenient in cases involving celebrity victims.

Her attorney, Mark Geragos, framed the plea as an act of accountability:

“She’s taking responsibility for her actions.”

But in reality, Sangha had little choice.

The evidence was overwhelming, from seized narcotics to incriminating Signal messages.

The plea is less about redemption and more about damage control.

What This Means for Hollywood and Beyond

The Perry case may be the most high-profile ketamine-related death to date, but it likely won’t be the last.

The DOJ’s aggressive pursuit of the “Ketamine Queen” sends a message: the era of turning a blind eye to underground ketamine clinics and suppliers is ending.

Hollywood, where experimental treatments and drug use often blur together, will be forced to confront its complicity.

For every Perry, there are dozens of other names less known but equally vulnerable.

Fans, meanwhile, are left with a sobering reminder.

Matthew Perry wanted to be remembered not just for Friends, but for helping people struggling with addiction.

Instead, his death has become a tragic symbol of how easily even the strongest advocates can be pulled back under.

Final Thoughts: A Legacy in Shadow

As Jasveen Sangha awaits her sentencing, the case closes with more heartbreak than closure.

Justice may be served, but the outcome is irreversible: Matthew Perry is gone.

For fans, the pain lingers.

Every rerun of Friends carries the shadow of his struggle.

Every quote about his battle with addiction is now colored by its tragic end.

And yet, perhaps that is the point.

Perry himself once said:

“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned.

I want helping people to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

Ironically, his death may achieve that in ways his life could not.

By exposing the dangers of ketamine abuse, by unmasking the predators who profit from addiction, Perry’s final chapter may serve as a warning—and perhaps, a lifeline—for others.