Doctor Pleads Guilty in Matthew Perry Ketamine Death Case

Dr. Salvador Plasencia, a California-based physician linked to the ketamine overdose death of Friends star Matthew Perry, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to four felony counts of illegally distributing the drug. The case is part of a broader federal crackdown on those who supplied Perry with ketamine in the weeks leading up to his death in October 2023.

 

Plasencia, 43, admitted in a plea deal that he provided Perry with liquid ketamine, lozenges, and syringes — none of which were for a legitimate medical purpose. He also acknowledged teaching Perry’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, how to inject the drug, despite Iwamasa having no medical training. Perry paid the doctor up to $55,000 over a span of just a few weeks.

 

The plea agreement, signed last month, comes with serious consequences: Plasencia faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and $2 million in fines. His sentencing is scheduled for December 3. As part of the deal, he has agreed to voluntarily surrender his medical license within the next 30 to 45 days.

 

During Wednesday’s hearing in a Los Angeles federal courtroom, Plasencia appeared visibly emotional, dabbing his face as prosecutors laid out the disturbing details. One account described how he once administered ketamine to Perry in the back of a car parked near a public aquarium in Long Beach. In another instance, he charged the actor $12,000 for a home visit.

 

“Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry,” his attorney, Karen L. Goldstein, said in a statement. “He fully accepts responsibility and hopes this case brings about much-needed oversight in the at-home ketamine industry.”

Despite not being Perry’s treating physician at the time of death, prosecutors argue Plasencia knowingly fed into the actor’s spiraling addiction. Text messages between Plasencia and another physician, Mark Chavez — who has also pleaded guilty in the case — show the doctors mocking Perry and discussing how much they could charge him. “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Plasencia wrote in one message.

 

Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home on October 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death accidental, caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Authorities say the final dose, administered by Iwamasa, came from another source — a woman allegedly known as the “Ketamine Queen,” Jasveen Sangha, who is set to face trial on August 19.

 

Plasencia is the fourth person convicted in the federal investigation. Iwamasa, Perry’s personal assistant, pleaded guilty last year and is scheduled to be sentenced in November. Another doctor, Mark Chavez, and a distributor, Eric Fleming, have also pleaded guilty. Fleming admitted to delivering the batch of ketamine that ultimately killed Perry, sourced from Sangha.

 

Sangha, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of supplying 50 vials of ketamine over a two-week period and running a stash house in North Hollywood. She is the last remaining defendant yet to be tried.

 

Until his sentencing, Plasencia will remain out on bond. His urgent care clinic in Calabasas remains operational, although it now requires patients to sign waivers acknowledging the charges against him.

 

The case has highlighted a growing concern around the unregulated use of ketamine in off-label settings and at-home treatments. Federal prosecutors have described Perry's situation as a stark warning of how vulnerable patients can be exploited by the very professionals entrusted with their care.

 

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