The woman who sold drugs that caused the death of Canadian-American actor Matthew Perry in 2023 has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Jasveen Sangha, a 42-year-old dual British-American citizen known as the “Ketamine Queen”, pleaded guilty to five felony drug charges in September. He has been in custody since his arrest in August 2024.
Perry was found dead in a hot tub at her home in Los Angeles in 2023.
“I take full responsibility for my actions. These were terrible choices that ultimately proved tragic,” Sangha told U.S. District Judge Sherrilyn Garnett on Wednesday.
How did Matthew Perry die?
The “Friends” star had spoken publicly about his years-long struggle with drug and alcohol abuse, but claimed to be sober during the months before his death.
Federal law enforcement officials said the actor became addicted to ketamine while he was receiving treatment for depression and anxiety at a clinic.
According to US officials, when the clinic refused to increase his dosage, Perry turned to the black market.
A few weeks later, he was found dead at his home due to an overdose of anesthesia given by Sangha.
Perry’s autopsy concluded that the actor died from the “acute effects of ketamine”, which caused him to become unconscious and drown in his hot tub.
Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties. It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other disorders, but it is also a popular illicit drug.
What was the case against the ‘Ketamine Queen’?
Sangha had pleaded guilty to drug charges, including admitting to running a so-called “warehouse” for illegal drugs from his home in North Hollywood.
The accused accused him of providing ketamine and other drugs to Perry, who had been battling drug addiction for years.
Prosecutors said she sold more than 50 doses of anesthesia to the beloved actor through an intermediary, Eric Fleming, in the weeks before Perry’s death.
After news of Perry’s death broke, prosecutors said Sangha asked associates to delete all text messages to conceal his involvement. During a search of his home, investigators also found a large quantity of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine and ecstasy, in addition to ketamine.
What about the other defendants in the case?
Fleming sold the drugs to Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who administered three injections of ketamine that killed the actor.
Fleming and Iwamasa have not yet been sentenced.
Two doctors, Mark Chávez and Salvador Plasencia, have also pleaded guilty. Chávez was sentenced to eight months of home confinement, while Plasencia was given a prison sentence of two and a half years.
Sangha’s defense lawyer, Mark Geragos, had demanded that his sentence be limited to the time he has already spent in custody as he was detained for about a year and eight months in 2024.
“There is no way that Jasveen is five times more guilty than the person who injected Matthew Perry with the drug, or the doctor who administered the drug,” Geragos told reporters outside the courthouse in Los Angeles after the hearing.
Sangha faced a possible sentence of up to 65 years in prison. Prosecutors had recommended 15 years.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher