Mark Chavez, 54, is expected to plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine next month after he reached a deal with prosecutors in exchange for a commuted prison sentence, according to federal court documents.
In the meantime, the La Jolla-based doctor is prohibited from practicing medicine pending the case’s conclusion and a probe by state Office of Administrative Hearings into whether his involvement violated the Medical Practice Act, medical board records show.
If it is determined the Medical Practice Act was violated, the doctor will have his license revoked.
Chavez is one of five people — including medical practitioners and an illicit ketamine dealer — charged in a sweeping indictment filed by federal prosecutors in August, following a months-long investigation into Perry’s overdose death at his Pacific Palisades home last October.
Federal prosecutors allege the “Friends” star, who had publicly struggled with substance abuse, was taken advantage of by the defendants for financial gain after he sought them out to obtain surgical anesthetic ketamine when his regular doctors refused to provide him with more.
One of the primary defendants in the indictment, Los Angeles doctor Salvador Plasencia, said in a text to Chavez “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” before charging him thousands of dollars for the drug in the weeks leading up to Perry’s death, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors say Chavez met up with Plasencia in Orange County to provide him with doses of ketamine, which Perry had been been using through his regular doctor as a treatment for depression, that were obtained through a fraudulent prescription.
Dr. Mark Chavez, right, a physician from San Diego who is charged in connection with actor Matthew Perry’s death from an accidental ketamine overdose, and his attorney Matthew Binninger, leave the Roybal Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
“Defendants Plasencia and Chavez as medical doctors knew full well this was not the proper way to administer ketamine and they even talked about that in their exchanges,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a press conference about the incitement on Aug. 15.
According to court documents, Chavez reached the deal with prosecutors in an effort to cooperate with the prosecution as they go for Plasencia and their other main target, Javen Sangha, who allegedly supplied Perry with the doses in his system when he died.
Both Plasencia and Sangha pleaded not guilty to their respective felony charges detailed in the indictment. If convicted, Plasencia could get a sentence of life in prison, while Sangha could receive up to 120 years.
Under his plea agreement, Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison. He is due back in court for a change of plea hearing on Oct. 2 and has been released on a $50,000 bond awaiting further court proceedings.
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