‘Ketamine Queen’ Jasveen Sangha sentenced to 15 years for the death of Matthew Perry

On Wednesday, April 8, in Los Angeles, California, one of the most anticipated sentencing cases in recent years took place: that of Jasveen Sangha, the main defendant in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry. She became infamous as the “Ketamine Queen” for supplying the actor with the drug that ended his life in 2023. Of the five defendants, she faced the longest prison sentence, of up to 65 years. The prosecution had sought 15 years, and that is what they ultimately obtained.

Sangha’s sentencing is the third in the case, which involves five defendants. The two doctors involved have already heard their sentences. The first was Salvador Plasencia, last December, sentenced to two and a half years in prison and a $5,600 fine. The second, two weeks later, was Mark Chavez, sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 300 hours of community service.

Sangha, 42, is a dual U.S. and British citizen residing in North Hollywood. She pleaded guilty in a court hearing in early September to the death of the Friends actor, which occurred in October 2023, when Perry was 54. Although she was arrested in the summer of 2024, she initially declined to plead guilty, a decision that changed a few months ago, in August. She then pleaded guilty on five federal charges: one for operating a drug manufacturing and distribution operation, one for distributing a substance that caused a death, and three for distributing ketamine.

The first charge, running a drug business, could have landed Sangha in prison for 20 years. When police raided her North Hollywood residence, from which she operated, in March 2024, they found nearly two kilos of methamphetamine pills, 79 vials of liquid ketamine, MDMA, cocaine, various substances such as benzodiazepines and amphetamines, and almost $6,000 in cash.

From prison, where she awaited sentencing, Sangha told the British newspaper The Sun that she took “full responsibility” for her actions and the “role I played in the events that led to this tragedy.” “There are no excuses for what I did. I am deeply sorry for the pain I caused, especially to Matthew’s family. Their loss is unimaginable and permanent. I understand that my conduct — operating a drug business and continuing down that path — was reckless, dangerous, and wrong.” The prosecution has stated that, despite pleading guilty, Sangha has shown little remorse.

As a DEA agent told the BBC, Sangha was “a highly educated person who decided to make their living trafficking drugs, and use that money from drug trafficking to finance this social media influencer persona,” through a service that provided substances “to the Hollywood elite.” She is the daughter of business owners who ran franchises of a fried chicken chain in Los Angeles and owned a mansion in Calabasas, a luxurious area of ​​the city, though they fell on hard times a decade ago due to legal problems. She also inherited a considerable fortune from her grandparents, who made their wealth as fashion merchants in London.

Sangha enjoyed partying, dancing, and flying on private jets, according to those close to her. Her lawyer, the high-profile Mark Geragos, said she supplied Perry with ketamine but never met him in person. “She feels terrible. She felt terrible from day one. It’s been a horrible experience,” Geragos told the press after she pleaded guilty in September.

In a statement released Tuesday, Debbie Perry, stepmother of the actor who played Chandler Bing on the beloved sitcom Friends, asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence on the defendant. “The pain you’ve caused to hundreds maybe thousands is irreversible. There is no joy… No light in the window. They won’t be back,” she stated. She continued, addressing Sangha, as reported by People: “You caused this… You who has talent for business enough to make money chose the one way that hurts people.” In her closing remarks, Debbie Perry asked the court to ensure that Sangha could not harm others in the future: “Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.”

Sangha has been handed a much more severe sentence than Plasencia, the first to be sentenced. He was one of the two doctors who administered ketamine to Perry, along with his colleague Mark Chavez, supplying him with enormous quantities at inflated prices. Their messages to each other included phrases like, “I wonder how much more this asshole will pay,” as Plasencia wrote to Chavez in September 2023, just a month before the actor’s death. “We’ll find out,” Chavez replied. Although the messages were deleted from their phones, federal investigators were able to recover them. Plasencia was sentenced on December 3 to 30 months in prison, which he is already serving in a federal penitentiary. He also lost the license for his Calabasas clinic and must pay a fine of $5,600. Chavez, on the other hand, received a much lighter sentence. He had already turned in his medical license and, according to his lawyers, he has shown “a lot of remorse” and helped in the case, “trying to do everything possible to cooperate, to help in this situation.”

In addition to the three convicted, two other people have been charged in connection with the actor’s death. One is a 55-year-old Californian named Erik Fleming, who helped Sangha obtain ketamine. He faces two charges: one for distribution of ketamine resulting in death and a second for conspiracy, which could send him to prison for up to 25 years. The last person implicated is Kenneth Iwamasa, who for years was the actor’s personal assistant and the last person to see him alive before he drowned in the jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home. He helped Perry use ketamine prescribed by doctors, so he faces a charge of distributing ketamine resulting in death, which could carry a sentence of up to 15 years in prison.

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