Jasveen Sangha, the young woman who was referred to as the “Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors, received a 15-year prison sentence on Wednesday in a Los Angeles courtroom after pleading guilty to federal drug charges last year in connection with “Friends” star Matthew Perry’s death in 2023.
Ketamine Supplier Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Case
Sangha, who had been in federal custody since her arrest in August 2024, pleaded guilty last fall to five federal charges related to Perry’s tragic death in 2023. Sangha openly lamented her actions while addressing the courtroom. Per NBC News, she said, “I pray for forgiveness every day.” She added, “Thank you for giving me the hardest reality check of my life. Thank you for taking me out of the equation.”
Ahead of the sentencing, Perry’s stepmom, Debbie Perry, asked the judge to hand Sangha the maximum possible prison sentence. According to BBC News, she said in a victim impact statement sent on Tuesday to the California court, “You caused this… You who has talent for business enough to make money chose the one way that hurts people. Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.”
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Profits Over People: The Distribution of Ketamine
Federal prosecutors with the Central District of California did not mince words regarding Sangha’s culpability. In a 24-page sentencing memorandum filed in late March, prosecutors requested an 180-month prison term, characterizing the defendant as a calculated drug dealer who knowingly sold dangerous substances.
The prosecution highlighted a chilling detail: when Sangha learned that she had supplied the specific batch of drugs that caused Perry’s death, she showed no remorse and simply continued her illicit business. “Her actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life,” the U.S. attorneys wrote. “She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
Defense attorneys Mark J. Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian asked the court to impose a sentence of time served, arguing in a 16-page response that their client had fully accepted responsibility for her criminal conduct. They maintained that Sangha did not minimize the gravity of the consequences of her actions.
The Tragic Final Days of Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry, 54, was discovered face down in the heated end of his Pacific Palisades pool on October 28, 2023. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office subsequently determined that Perry died from an accidental overdose of ketamine, a hallucinogenic anesthetic that has recently seen increased off-label use as a treatment for depression and anxiety.
Perry, widely adored for his role as the quick-witted Chandler Bing, had a long, well-documented battle with substance abuse. He chronicled his fight for sobriety in his raw 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.” In the months preceding his death, Perry was undergoing legal, medically supervised ketamine infusion therapy. However, he eventually sought unsupervised, illicit doses, developing a severe dependency. Prosecutors noted that his addiction was rapidly spiraling out of control, costing him thousands of dollars a month.
An Elaborate Network of Illicit Sales
Sangha did not operate alone. According to her plea agreement, she collaborated with a man named Erik Fleming to supply the drugs to Perry. During the month of the actor’s death, Sangha and Fleming sold 51 vials of ketamine to Perry, coordinating the handoffs through his live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Prosecutors stated that Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the drug in the days leading up to his death, including at least three fatal shots on his final day. When news of Perry’s death broke, Sangha immediately contacted Fleming on the encrypted messaging app Signal, instructing him to delete all their messages in a frantic attempt to cover their tracks.
Both Fleming and Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024 to charges stemming from the conspiracy to distribute the drugs that caused Perry’s death. Both men are awaiting their respective sentencings this month. Sangha’s criminal enterprise extended far beyond her dealings with the television star. A dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, she admitted to using her North Hollywood home to store, package, and distribute narcotics—including methamphetamine—since at least 2019.
Tragically, Perry was not her first victim. Sangha also admitted to selling four vials of ketamine to a man named Cody McLaury in August 2019. McLaury passed away from a drug overdose hours after the transaction. Although Sangha will be held accountable, her sentence cannot erase the painful loss felt by the families of the victims. The devastating ripple effects of addiction, and those who exploit it for financial gain, leave behind a heartbreak that no courtroom ruling can ever really heal.
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