Five Charged in Connection With Matthew Perry’s Death, Including His Assistant and Two Doctors

• Five Individuals Charged: Prosecutors have charged five people, including Matthew Perry’s personal assistant and two doctors, in connection with the actor’s death.
• Ketamine Overdose: Perry died from a ketamine overdose, with prosecutors alleging the doctors exploited his addiction and provided dangerously high doses of the drug.
• Underground Criminal Network: The accused are part of a broader underground network that profited from providing ketamine to Perry, with one doctor comparing the actor to a “moron” in text messages.
• Severe Legal Consequences: The charged individuals face significant prison time, with one doctor potentially facing up to 120 years and another accused, referred to as the “Ketamine Queen,” facing life in prison.

Five people, including Matthew Perry’s personal assistant and two doctors, have been charged in connection with the actor’s death, which prosecutors describe as the result of a “broad underground criminal network” aimed at supplying Perry with the powerful surgical anesthetic ketamine.

The charges were announced on Thursday by U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, who emphasized that the accused individuals knowingly put Perry’s life at risk.

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit television show “Friends,” died in October 2023 due to a ketamine overdose.

The indictment reveals that in the months leading up to his death, two doctors exploited Perry’s history of addiction by providing him with dangerously high amounts of ketamine.

Despite knowing the risks, they continued to supply the drug, with one doctor callously texting, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Let’s find out.”

On the day of Perry’s death, his live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, administered multiple ketamine injections to the actor. Iwamasa later found Perry dead in his hot tub and was the first to speak with investigators. The case has since revealed a web of individuals profiting from Perry’s desperation to manage his depression through ketamine treatments.

Ketamine, a drug originally approved for use as an anesthetic, has seen a surge in popularity as an off-label treatment for depression, anxiety, and pain.

Perry had been receiving legitimate treatments, but when his regular doctors refused to increase his dosage, he sought out others who were willing to provide the drug in exchange for cash. According to prosecutors, Perry paid over $55,000 in cash to these individuals in the two months leading up to his death.

Among those charged is Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted. Plasencia, who is accused of distributing ketamine and falsifying records after Perry’s death, pleaded not guilty in court on Thursday.

His attorney argued that Plasencia was motivated by medical intentions and did not believe his actions rose to the level of criminal misconduct.

However, prosecutors allege that Plasencia acted more like a “street corner drug dealer” than a licensed physician.

Also charged is Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors, who is accused of supplying the ketamine that led to Perry’s death.

Sangha, who pleaded not guilty, was denied bond after the court ruled that she posed a flight risk and had destroyed evidence.