Five people have been charged in connection to the death of Friends star Matthew Perry , police have said.
The charges related to the actor’s accidental ketamine overdose last year were announced by United States Attorney Martin Estrada at a press conference on Thursday.
Mr Estrada said the people involved, who include a personal assistant to Perry and two doctors, “took advantage” after the actor fell back into addiction.
Two of the defendants, including Perry's assistant, have pleaded guilty to charges already, and a third person has agreed to plead guilty, it was said.
Mr Estrada said some of those involved could face lengthy sentences including life in prison.
Reporters were told large amounts of ketamine were sold for thousands of dollars to Perry and the defendants later tried to “cover up” what they had done by deleting messages and falsifiying medical records.
Mr Estrada said the doctors supplied Perry with a large amount of ketamine and even wondered in a text message how much the former "Friends" star would be willing to pay.
"These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong," Estrada said.
Mr Estrada said the investigation uncovered a “broad underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantity of ketamine to Perry and others”.
The Department of Justice said those charged were:
•Jasveen Sangha, an alleged drug dealer known as ‘The ketamine Queen’ who was charged one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
•Dr Salvador Plasencia, who has been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation.
•Eric Fleming, who it was said has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.Fleming admitted in court documents he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, the press conference was told.
He admitted to obtaining the ketamine from his source, Sangha, and to distributing 50 vials of ketamine to Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa - half of them four days before Perry’s death, police said.
•Kenneth Iwamasa: Perry's live-in personal assistant conspired with Sangha, Fleming, and Plasencia to illegally obtain ketamine and distribute it to Perry, it is alleged.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, and admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing multiple injections on Perry on the day he died, the press conference was told.
•Dr Mark Chavez: A physician who has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. He admitted in his plea agreement to selling ketamine to Plasencia, including ketamine he had diverted from his former ketamine clinic, authorities said.
Perry, 54, was found face down in the pool at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He died from the acute effects of ketamine and said the “manner of death is accident”, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Los Angeles police said in May that it was working with federal authorities to find the source of the ketamine Perry had consumed.
Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for anxiety and depression, but the last therapy was a week and a half before his death.
The Friends star was open about his battle with substance abuse and addiction and had set up a sober living facility for men with similar issues.
A post-mortem examination concluded that “drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine” – which is described as an “opioid-like drug used in the treatment of opioid addiction as well as acute and chronic pain” – were contributing factors to Perry’s death.
The report said Perry was receiving “ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety”, with his last known treatment one and a half weeks before his death, and suggested he had been “reportedly clean for 19 months” from drug use.
“The ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy,” the ruling said.
The report was not able to specify the “exact method of intake” in Perry’s case.
A study in April 2023 suggested ketamine is almost as effective as a treatment for depression as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
Scientists in India compared the efficacy of the dissociative drug with ECT, which is routinely used in the treatment of psychiatric illnesses.
Researchers analysed data from five randomised clinical trials that included 278 participants.
They concluded that, while ECT was "superior to ketamine for improving depressive symptoms", the advantage was "small".
"For many patients, especially those who want to be protected against cognitive risks, a trial of ketamine may be worth considering before a trial of ECT."
Ketamine, commonly used as a club drug, is a Class B substance and possession in the UK carries a five-year prison sentence.
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