Doctor Who Supplied Matthew Perry with Ketamine Pleads Guilty, Faces 40 Years

The doctor accused of fueling Matthew Perry’s final relapse has now confessed in court. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, an emergency room physician from Southern California, pleaded guilty to illegally supplying ketamine to the Friends star. An act federal prosecutors say directly contributed to Perry’s death in October 2023.

A Doctor Turned Dealer

According to federal prosecutors, Dr. Plasencia sold Matthew Perry large quantities of ketamine under the guise of therapeutic treatment. While ketamine is FDA-approved for anesthesia and has emerging uses in treating depression, its distribution is tightly controlled.

Plasencia administered the drug himself and went so far as to train Perry's personal assistant to perform intravenous injections at home. Reports say he charged Perry over $55,000 for the drug. The assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, has also pleaded guilty, admitting to conspiracy to distribute ketamine that led to Perry's death.

A Drug with a Rising Body Count

Plasencia reportedly charged Matthew Perry thousands of dollars per vial, pushing doses that exceeded standard therapeutic levels.

Prosecutors say Dr. Plasencia capitalized on Matthew Perry’s vulnerability, allegedly selling the vials of ketamine for thousands of dollars apiece and administering dangerously high doses far outside accepted medical guidelines. These treatments were private, unmonitored infusions often carried out in non-clinical settings.

On October 28, 2023, Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home. The coroner’s report later confirmed what many feared: Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. Additional factors (drowning, coronary artery disease, and the presence of buprenorphine, a medication used for opioid recovery) were also listed, but ketamine was the driving cause.

Five Charged in Matthew Perry's Ketamine Death

Dr. Plasencia isn’t the only one facing consequences. Federal investigators have charged five people in connection with the drug network that allegedly fed Matthew Perry’s ketamine dependency in the months leading up to his death.

Among the accused: two licensed physicians, a longtime assistant, a drug dealer, and an alleged high-volume supplier. Together, prosecutors say, they created a supply chain that bypassed safety protocols, medical ethics , and ultimately, the law.

Kenneth Iwamasa: Personal Assistant

Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, became (in the words of investigators) an untrained drug administrator. Court filings reveal that Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine, despite having no medical license or clinical qualifications.

In some instances, he obtained the drug directly from co-defendants, including Dr. Plasencia.

On August 7, 2024, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death. He now faces a potential 15 to 25 years in federal prison.

Dr. Mark Chavez: Physician and Ketamine Supplier

Chavez is a licensed physician located in San Diego. He admitted to supplying ketamine to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, using fraudulent prescriptions to acquire the substance. Chavez agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Potential Sentence: Faces up to 10 years in prison.

Erik Fleming: Drug Dealer and Middleman

Flemming, an alleged drug dealer and acquaintance of Perry admitted to supplying the ketamine that led to the actors' death. He coordinated with other defendants to provide the drug to Perry.

Flemming pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine, resulting in death.

Potential Sentence: Faces up to 25 years in prison.

Jasveen Sangha: "Ketamine Queen" and Alleged Supplier

Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed the "Ketamine Queen," is an alleged large-scale drug dealer based in North Hollywood. Sangha is accused of supplying the batch of ketamine that caused Perry's death.

Sangha is facing multiple charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining a drug-involved premises (stash house), possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ketamine, and five counts of ketamine distribution.

Trial Status: Pled not guilty; trial scheduled for August 19, 2025.

Matthew Perry's Addiction: A Lifelong Battle

Matthew Perry was not shy about his struggles. In fact, he made it his mission to turn his pain into purpose.

The Friends star spent much of his adult life navigating a battle with addiction that began in his mid-20s and shadowed his rise to fame. At one point, Perry admitted he was taking as many as 55 Vicodin pills a day while filming the show that made him a household name. His fluctuating weight and rehab absences were publicly known, even if the full extent of his suffering remained hidden.

"I don't remember three years of it," Perry once said about filming Friends. "Somewhere between Season 3 and 6... I was a little out of it."

His memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, released in 2022, was an unflinching look at his decades-long spiral through opioids, alcohol, and anxiety. The book disclosed multiple near-death experiences, including a collapsed colon, 14 stomach surgeries, and over 65 detox stints. Perry spent more than $9 million on rehab.

While ketamine was not a drug Perry abused during his earlier years, he began receiving ketamine infusion therapy in his later attempts to manage depression and chronic pain. According to the L.A. County Coroner's report, Perry had received such treatments in a clinical setting days before his death. But the fatal dose found in his body didn't match those controlled infusions.

Celebrity Healthcare

Experts warn that celebrity patients often receive less oversight and more access, a dangerous combination when dealing with psychoactive substances.

In Matthew Perry's case, the very people meant to help him recover allegedly fueled his dependency.

What Comes Next

Perry had hoped to be a voice for recovery. Instead, his final chapter is a cautionary tale about how even the most privileged patients can fall prey to poor medical practice.

Dr. Salvador Plasencia is now awaiting sentencing. An official date has yet to be publicly announced. Legal analysts suggest the court could seek a severe penalty given the high-profile nature of the case and the irrefutable loss of life.

Meanwhile, we wait to see if the upcoming trial of Jasveen Sangha will provide additional answers for how Matthew Perry's life was derailed despite numerous rehab stints, memoir reflections, and public declarations of sobriety.

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