{"id":633,"date":"2025-09-03T18:35:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/ketamine-queen-guilty-perry-overdose\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T18:35:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T18:35:33","slug":"ketamine-queen-guilty-perry-overdose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/ketamine-queen-guilty-perry-overdose\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Ketamine Queen&#8217; pleads guilty in Matthew Perry&#8217;s overdose death"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<p><time datetime=\"2025-09-03\">Sept. 3, 2025<\/time> \u2014 Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to five counts connected to the Oct. 28, 2023 ketamine overdose that killed actor Matthew Perry. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10; federal prosecutors say she faces a maximum of 65 years in prison.<\/p>\n<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Sangha admitted to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distribution resulting in death or serious bodily injury.<\/li>\n<li>Matthew Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28, 2023; the death was ruled an accidental ketamine overdose by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.<\/li>\n<li>Prosecutors say Sangha worked with Erik Fleming to supply ketamine; in the month of Perry&#8217;s death they sold about 51 vials tied to him.<\/li>\n<li>Perry&#8217;s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, repeatedly injected ketamine into the actor in the days before his death; Iwamasa and Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024.<\/li>\n<li>Sangha has been in federal custody since August 2024 and will be sentenced on Dec. 10, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>The medical examiner reported that the amount of ketamine in Perry&#8217;s system was similar to an anesthetic dose.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Verified Facts<\/h2>\n<p>Federal prosecutors in the Central District of California said Sangha entered guilty pleas to five counts on Sept. 3, 2025. The charges include maintaining a location where illegal drug activity occurred and multiple counts tied to distribution of ketamine, including one count linked to death or serious bodily injury.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities say Sangha, a dual U.S.-U.K. citizen, supplied ketamine to Perry with the assistance of Erik Fleming. In the month surrounding Perry&#8217;s death, prosecutors allege Sangha and Fleming sold roughly 51 vials of ketamine that were provided to Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry&#8217;s live-in assistant.<\/p>\n<p>The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner concluded Perry&#8217;s death was an accidental overdose of ketamine. The examiner reported levels consistent with a dose used in general anesthesia. Perry was 54 at the time of his death.<\/p>\n<p>Both Fleming and Iwamasa pleaded guilty in August 2024: Fleming to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution resulting in death; Iwamasa to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. Sangha has been held in federal custody since August 2024.<\/p>\n<h2>Context &#038; Impact<\/h2>\n<p>The case highlights legal risks for people who supply controlled substances outside regulated medical channels. Ketamine has gained attention in recent years as an off-label treatment for depression, but unregulated or unsupervised use carries significant safety risks.<\/p>\n<p>The prosecution may set a precedent for how federal authorities pursue suppliers when illicit distribution contributes to a fatality. High-profile cases such as this also tend to intensify public discussion about celebrity access to off-label therapies and the boundaries between medical and illicit use.<\/p>\n<p>Victim advocates and clinicians say outcomes underscore the importance of supervised treatment, clear prescribing protocols and monitoring when potent anesthetics are used for psychiatric care.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Delete all our messages,&#8221; Sangha reportedly told Erik Fleming over the encrypted app Signal after learning of Perry&#8217;s death.<\/p>\n<p><cite>Prosecutors&#8217; filings<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<aside>\n<details>\n<summary>Explainer: What is ketamine and how is it used?<\/summary>\n<p>Ketamine is an anesthetic and dissociative drug used in medical settings for decades. In recent years, low-dose ketamine infusions and esketamine nasal spray have been used off-label or under emergency approvals to treat severe depression. Clinical use involves controlled doses, monitoring and medical oversight; unsupervised or high doses can depress breathing and lead to life-threatening effects.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n<\/aside>\n<h2>Unconfirmed<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Whether Sangha intended to cause serious harm or death has not been established in court and remains a matter for sentencing and prosecutors&#8217; statements.<\/li>\n<li>Specific medical supervision, if any, for the ketamine Perry received outside infusion clinics has not been fully documented in public filings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bottom Line<\/h2>\n<p>Sangha&#8217;s guilty pleas bring the federal criminal case toward sentencing on Dec. 10, 2025; prosecutors say she faces up to 65 years. The matter underscores legal exposure for unregulated drug distribution and renews scrutiny of how potent treatments like ketamine are accessed and administered outside formal medical settings.<\/p>\n<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mec.lacounty.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles County Medical Examiner<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-cdca\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office, Central District of California<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sept. 3, 2025 \u2014 Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to five counts connected to the Oct. 28, 2023 ketamine overdose that killed actor Matthew Perry. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 10; federal prosecutors say she faces a maximum of 65 years in prison. Key Takeaways Sangha admitted to one &#8230; <a title=\"&#8216;Ketamine Queen&#8217; pleads guilty in Matthew Perry&#8217;s overdose death\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/ketamine-queen-guilty-perry-overdose\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about &#8216;Ketamine Queen&#8217; pleads guilty in Matthew Perry&#8217;s overdose death\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"Ketamine Queen pleads guilty in Matthew Perry - NBC","rank_math_description":"Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal counts tied to Matthew Perry\u2019s Oct. 28, 2023 ketamine overdose. Sentencing is set for Dec. 10; prosecutors seek up to 65 years.","rank_math_focus_keyword":"ketamine, Matthew Perry, Jasveen Sangha, overdose, federal charges","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readtrends.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}