5 people charged in connection to Matthew Perry’s death: What to know

The U.S. Department of Justice have charged five people in connection to Matthew Perry’s death last October including a former movie director, two doctors, his live-in assistant and a drug dealer known as the “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood.
The “Friends” star’ was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office later confirmed that he died from “the acute effects of ketamine,” a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. Contributing factors to his death included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine, according to his autopsy. No pills, drugs, or medications were found near the pool.
At a press conference Thursday, Martin Estrada, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced several charges against five defendants who allegedly “knew what they were doing was wrong” and “tried to cover up what they did.” He added that the defendants cared more about profiting off Perry than his well-being and warned others engaging with similar actions.
“It is a drug that must be administered by medical professionals, and the patient must be monitored closely. That did not occur here,” he said at the news conference. “You are playing roulette with other people’s lives, just like these five defendants here did to Mr. Perry.”
The co-conspirators allegedly used encrypted messaging applications and coded language to discuss drug deals often referring to bottles of ketamine as “Dr. Pepper,” “cans” and “bots.”
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The DOJ has filed 18 criminal counts against 42-year-old physician Salvador Plasencia and 41-year-old Jasveen Sangha for allegedly “distributing ketamine to Perry during the final weeks of the actor’s life.”
USA TODAY has reached out to Sangha’s attorney for comment. Court records have not been updated with an attorney for Plasencia.
Three other defendants were listed as co-conspirators who pleaded guilty including the actor’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, as well as Dr. Mark Chavez and movie producer Erik Fleming, who are both 54.
Sangha, whom the DOJ’s indictment refers to as “The Ketamine Queen” of North Hollywood, allegedly used her Los Angeles home to store and distribute narcotics like ketamine and methamphetamine.
Officials allege that Sangha, alongside Fleming, sold the ketamine Perry consumed. Once reports of Perry’s death emerged, she allegedly texted Fleming on the Signal communication app to “delete all our messages” and changed the app’s settings to automatically delete what they send each other, according to the indictment obtained by USA TODAY.
Through a search warrant, the Los Angeles Police Department later found around 79 vials of ketamine at Sangha’s “stash house.”
In March, U.S. attorneys filed a complaint accusing Sangha of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to court records reviewed by USA TODAY. The federal case against her was updated with the first superseding indictment, which was unsealed Thursday and also named Plasencia, on Wednesday.
Plasencia, who the DOJ nicknamed “Dr. P,” was a medical doctor licensed in California.
Alongside fellow physician Chavez, he was authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration to dispense, administer, and prescribe controlled substances like narcotics as long as there was a legitimate medical purpose. However, he allegedly distributed the schedule III drug without a legitimate reason, the indictment states.
He allegedly became aware of Perry’s interest in obtaining ketamine last September and asked Chavez to sell to him, investigators said. Text messages revealed Plasencia allegedly said “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets find out,” the indictment states.
The DOJ alleges Plasencia also administered instructions and provided syringes for Perry to use. He allegedly placed the order for 10 vials of ketamine despite telling a patient at his clinic less than a week earlier that the actor was “too far gone and spiraling in his addiction.”
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Erik Fleming is an acquaintance of Perry’s based in the southwestern Los Angeles County city of Hawthorne, according to the indictment.
A former Hollywood moviemaker, Fleming directed 1999 children’s family comedy “My Brother the Pig” starring Scarlett Johansson and Eva Mendes. In 2003, he produced season one of reality show “The Surreal Life” in 2003 and served as a director-producer on the 1999 road trip film “Tyrone” starring “Entourage” stars Coolio and Kevin Connolly.
On Oct. 13, 2023, Fleming allegedly drove Sangha’s North Hollywood stash house to purchase a ketamine sample contained inside an unlabeled clear glass vial with a blue cap, the indictment states.
Fleming pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and to an additional charge of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Chavez is a California-licensed medical doctor who used to operate a ketamine clinic, according to the DOJ.
On Sept. 30, he allegedly confirmed he would sell ketamine to Plasencia and wrote a fraudulent prescription for an unnamed victim without their consent or knowledge, the indictment said.
The DOJ confirmed Chavez has also agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 30 and faces up to 10 years in prison.
Iwamasa is a Los Angeles County resident who worked as Perry’s live-in assistant, a caregiver who resides in the home of their client and offers around-the-clock care.
The 59-year-old allegedly injected Perry with several doses of ketamine he received from Fleming andSangha, according to the indictment.
Earlier this month, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, Taijuan Moorman and Jay Stahl