'Ketamine Queen' Sentenced to 15 Years in Matthew Perry Overdose Death

A Los Angeles woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for supplying drugs that led to the death of ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty last September to five charges, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury.

Prosecutors described the British-American dual national’s North Hollywood home as a “drug-selling emporium”, where a range of narcotics were supplied to wealthy and well-connected clients.

Perry, who had struggled with addiction for years, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. Investigators said his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic with hallucinogenic effects, and is intended to be administered only under medical supervision.

Sangha sobbed as relatives of Perry addressed the court before the judge handed down the sentence.

The judge said she must answer for her crimes, noting that she had shown no remorse in the years since her arrest.

In her address to the court, Sangha admitted that her poor decisions had destroyed lives and said she was deeply ashamed and sorry for her actions.

Ahead of sentencing, Perry’s stepmother Debbie Perry urged the court to impose the maximum possible sentence.

In a victim impact statement submitted to the California court, she said Sangha had caused “irreversible” damage.

“You caused this… You who had enough business talent to make money chose the one way that hurts people,” she said, calling for the maximum sentence so she could not harm other families.

Federal authorities said dozens of ketamine vials were recovered during a raid at Sangha’s North Hollywood home, which they described as a “stash house” used to supply the drug since at least 2019.

Investigators also found thousands of pills, including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax.

Sangha initially denied the charges but later agreed to change her plea in August, weeks before her trial was due to begin.

As part of the plea agreement, she also admitted selling ketamine in August 2019 to a man who died hours later from a drug overdose, according to the US Department of Justice.

She faced a maximum sentence of 65 years in federal prison.

Sangha has been in custody since August 2024, according to her lawyers. Several letters of support were also submitted to the court by family and friends.

Her lawyers had sought a more lenient sentence, arguing she had accepted responsibility for serious criminal conduct and had no prior convictions.

Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the long-running 1990s US sitcom Friends, had long struggled with substance addiction and had been receiving ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.

Sangha is one of five people, including medical professionals and Perry’s assistant, accused of supplying ketamine to the actor while exploiting his addiction, leading to his death.

The other four defendants have also pleaded guilty.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied ketamine in the weeks before Perry’s death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison.

In the same month, Dr Mark Chavez, a California physician, was sentenced to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release after admitting to obtaining ketamine through a fraudulent prescription and selling it on.

Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who helped purchase and administer ketamine, is due to be sentenced later this month, though his lawyers have requested a postponement.

Eric Fleming, who supplied ketamine obtained from Sangha and sold it to Perry, is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

 

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