Five people — including his assistant and two doctors — arrested in Matthew Perry’s ketamine death after police probe

Five people, including Matthew Perry’s longtime personal assistant and an alleged drug dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” of Los Angeles, have been charged in connection to the “Friends” star’s overdose death last fall , prosecutors announced Thursday.

Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, Dr. Mark Chavez, 54, and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 42, are all facing a slew of federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine, the US Attorney’s office in the Central District of California said.

Authorities also charged alleged street dealer Erik Fleming, 54, and Jasveen Sangha, 41 – an alleged drug dealer prosecutors claim was known as the “Ketamine Queen” of Los Angeles – in connection with Perry’s death.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said at a press conference announcing the charges Thursday.

Perry, 54, died on Oct. 28, 2023, of a ketamine overdose from injections that were administered by Iwamasa, prosecutors said.

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The personal assistant later found the actor floating face down in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.

At the time of his death, the actor had about 3.54 micrograms per milliliter of ketamine in his bloodstream –which is nearly three times the normal amount.

Perry was seeking treatment for his mental health struggles when he fell back into active drug addiction last year, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said Thursday.

He was undergoing ketamine therapy for depression, but he had last been treated over a week before he died, according to the autopsy report.

The drug in Perry’s system could not have been from his treatment, because ketamine’s half-life is only three to four hours, the coroner said.

When the physicians at the clinic he was being treated at refused to increase his ketamine injections, Perry allegedly sought out Dr. Plasencia, Milgram explained.

Plasencia asked his colleague, Dr. Chavez, for help securing the flow of drugs for his high-profile client, she continued.

“Instead of ‘do no harm,’ they did harm so they could make more money,” Milgram said of the two doctors, who were both arrested on Thursday.

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Between September 2023 and his death on Oct. 28, Plasencia and Chavez allegedly supplied Perry with about 20 vials of ketamine in exchange for around $55,000 in cash.

On Sept. 30, Plasencia texted Chavez how much “this moron” –  referring to Perry — would be willing to pay for the drug, according to the indictment.

He also expressed a desire to become Perry’s “go-to” for drugs.

Iwamasa often coordinated with Perry’s suppliers using encrypted messaging apps and coded language that included referring to bottles of ketamine as “Dr. Pepper,” “cans,” and “bots,” per the indictment.

The assistant – who had no medical training – also injected Perry with the drug based on instructions from Plasencia.

About two weeks before he died, Perry appeared to “freeze up” and his blood pressure skyrocketed when Plasencia injected him with a “large dose” of ketamine during one of the drop-offs.

As his addiction became more crippling, Perry also started getting ketamine through street dealer Eric Fleming, who allegedly sourced his supply from Sangha, the “Ketamine Queen,” the indictment explained.

In one text exchange, Fleming told Iwamasa that Sangha only sold to “high end and celebs.”

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Sangha ran her “stash house” out of her North Hollywood home, authorities said.

One neighbor told The Post on Thursday that the alleged dealer seemed “nice and whatnot,” but admitted that they knew “something was up.”

“I just heard from other neighbors that she partied and was into, or like, had some sketchy people she hung around,” they explained.

Authorities believe that Perry’s final, fatal dose of ketamine was supplied by Sangha.

Iwamasa injected Perry with three doses of the drug on the day he died using a syringe provided by Plasencia, the indictment stated.

Sangha was arrested in connection with a separate federal drug case in March, but was released from custody after posting a $100,000 bond, court records showed.

In addition to Perry’s death, she was also charged in connection with the death of Cody McLaury, 33, who died in 2019 as a result of ketamine peddled by her, the indictment said.

Shortly after McLaury died, one of his siblings texted Sangha that “the ketamine [she] sold my brother killed him. It’s listed as the cause of death.”

A few days later, Sangha conducted a Google search for “can ketamine be listed as a case of death[?]”

Three of the defendants charged in Perry’s death have pleaded guilty in the case.

Iwamasa and Chavez have both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death in the case. They will face up to 15 years and 10 years, respectively, at their sentencings.

Fleming pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He faces 25 years behind bars.

Perry’s family told NBC News on Thursday that they were “heartbroken” by his sudden death, but that they “look forward to justice taking its course.”

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