A woman nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen” has agreed to plead guilty to selling the drugs that led to the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry.
Jasveen Sangha, 42, is set to enter pleas to five charges in Los Angeles, including distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious injury, the US Justice Department confirmed. She originally faced nine criminal counts.
Prosecutors described her Los Angeles residence as a “drug-selling emporium,” where agents discovered dozens of ketamine vials during a raid.
Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the hit sitcom, was found dead in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. Medical examiners concluded his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine.
Sangha is one of five people accused of supplying the actor with the drug, alongside two medical doctors, Perry’s assistant, and another dealer. Authorities allege the group exploited Perry’s struggles with addiction for profit, ultimately contributing to his fatal overdose.
Federal investigators named Dr Salvador Plasencia and Dr Mark Chavez, who allegedly sold ketamine directly; Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant, who helped purchase and inject the drug; and Eric Fleming, who resold ketamine obtained from Sangha. All five have since agreed to plead guilty.
Sangha’s trial, postponed several times, had been scheduled to begin next month. She is expected in court in the coming weeks to formally enter her plea.
Her attorney, Mark Geragos, said she was “taking responsibility for her actions.”
As part of the plea agreement, Sangha admitted to operating a North Hollywood “stash house” since at least 2019, serving celebrities and wealthy clients. Prosecutors say she sold ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, in August 2019, who died just hours later from an overdose.
Authorities say a March 2024 raid uncovered more than 80 vials of ketamine and thousands of pills, including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax. The indictment labeled the property the “Sangha Stash House.”
Sangha faces up to 65 years in federal prison.
Ketamine, a dissociative anaesthetic with hallucinogenic effects, is legally used in human and veterinary medicine but must be administered by a physician under strict supervision. The drug can distort perception and cause dangerous detachment when misused.
Perry’s death has shone a light on Hollywood’s underground ketamine trade, which one doctor described to the BBC as resembling the “wild west.”
Socially, Sangha was known to mingle with celebrities and reportedly attended high-profile events such as the Golden Globes and the Oscars. Her social media accounts showcased a glamorous lifestyle of parties and overseas trips to Japan and Mexico.
