Jasveen Sangha, 'Ketamine Queen,' Drug Dealer Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison in Connection with Matthew Perry’s Death

April 8 (UPI) — Jasveen Sangha of Los Angeles, called the “Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday in connection with the 2023 overdose death of Friends actor Matthew Perry.

Sangha pleaded guilty last year to federal charges related to the case, including several counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

Prosecutors said Perry’s assistant bought 50 vials of ketamine, a quick-acting anesthetic that can also be misused as a hallucinogenic, and one of those vials of ketamine caused Perry’s accidental death, The New York Times reported.

Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the sitcom Friends, died Oct. 28, 2023, at age 54 after struggling with alcohol and drug addiction for years. He was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles; an autopsy showed his death was caused by “the acute effects of ketamine” with contributing factors of drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, an opoid.

His death touched off an investigation that resulted in the arrest of Sangha and four codefendants in the case, including Erik Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry’s; Matthew Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant who bought the ketamine on Perry’s behalf; Dr. Salvador Plasencia; and Dr. Mark Chavez. All pleaded guilty.

Sangha was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Garnett at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Plasencia and Chavez were sentenced earlier; Fleming and Iwamasa have yet to be sentenced.

Perry’s mother Suzanne Perry and stepfather Keith Morrison were present at the court hearing. The Times reported that Morrison spoke at the hearing, telling Sangha, “I feel bad for you. I don’t hate you. You are a drug dealer, and there are a lot of drug dealers out there. The fact is you supplied an addict.”

USA Today reported that prosecutors also filed a victim impact statement on behalf of Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry.

“The pain you’ve caused to hundreds, maybe thousands, is irreversible,” Perry wrote. “There is no joy to be found, no light in the window. They won’t be back.”