There’s been another update in the Matthew Perry case relating to Jasveen Sangha, the woman known as the “Ketamine Queen” who is accused of selling the drug that killed the Friends star.
Perry, best known as Chandler Bing on Friends, was open about his struggles with addiction, having battled with drug use during his time on the sitcom before getting clean. But on October 28, 2023, he died at age 54.
An autopsy ruled the cause of death as the “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning. Although it was originally believed to have been an accident, an investigation uncovered criminal activity involving the supply of ketamine.
Five individuals, including Dr. Salvador Plasencia, were arrested in 2024, and while most of them had pleaded guilty to various charges, Sangha was holding out – until now. Warning: some may find this content distressing.
Who is Jasveen Sangha?
Jasveen Sangha is a dual citizen of the US and the UK, with the 42-year-old earning the nickname the “Ketamine Queen” due to her alleged role in supplying large quantities of the drug to an elite network of clients in Los Angeles.
The North Hollywood resident graduated from Calabasas High School in 2001 and earned a Bachelor’s in social sciences from UC Irvine in 2005. Her career began with a role at Merrill Lynch before she pursued an MBA at Hult International Business School in London, graduating in 2010.
According to NBC, the details of her life since then have been tricker to pin down. Sangha was listed as the chief financial officer of the Stiletto Nail Bar in LA before it closed down.
It’s unclear when the transition occurred, but federal prosecutors claim Sangha has been selling ketamine and other substances from her LA home “since at least 2019”, describing her residence as a “drug-selling emporium”.
After obtaining a search warrant, court documents state that officials “found evidence of drug trafficking, including approximately 79 vials of ketamine, approximately 3.1 pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, and prescription drugs that appeared to be fraudulently obtained.”
The Californian US Attorney’s Office also accused Sangha of being aware of the dangers of ketamine prior to Matthew Perry’s death. “In August 2019, Sangha sold ketamine to victim Cody McLaury in the hours before his overdose death,” it wrote.
“After a family member of McLaury’s sent Sangha a text message saying that her ketamine had killed McLaury, Sangha conducted a Google search for ‘can ketamine be listed as a cause of death[?]’. The superseding indictment alleges that Sangha nonetheless continued to sell ketamine from her stash house.”
Following her arrest in August 2024, unearthed social media photos showed Sangha partying and travelling with Perla Hudson, the ex-wife of Guns N’ Rose’s lead guitarist, Slash.
In July 2023, Hudson shared a post celebrating the Ketamine Queen’s birthday, writing, “I always wanted a sister and God sent me you.” Other images show the pair enjoying a lavish lifestyle, travelling by private plane, and spending time on a boat.
There are also photos of the duo with celebrities such as DJ Khaled and Charlie Sheen. It’s important to note that Hudson and none of the aforementioned celebrities are connected to the criminal case in any way.
On Sangha’s personal Instagram account, she can be seen flaunting money and designer clothes.
The Ketamine Queen enters a plea deal
On August 18, the US Justice Department announced that Sangha has agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including that she provided the ketamine that ultimately resulted in the death of Perry.
The charges she’s agreed to plead guilty to include: one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
Although a trial was scheduled for September 2025, since Sangha has now entered a plea deal, this will no longer go ahead. Every other suspect – physician Mark Chavez, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, dealer Erik Fleming, and Perry’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa – has entered a plea deal too.
Her sentencing is due to unfold in the coming months, and she is facing up to 65 years in prison. This includes a maximum sentence of 20 years on the drug-involved premises charge, 10 years for each distribution count, and 15 years for the distribution resulting in death charge.
As for how she got involved with the Friends star, her agreement states that Sangha worked with Fleming to knowingly distribute ketamine to Perry. In October 2023, Sangha and Fleming sold Perry 51 vials of the substance, which were provided to Iwamasa.
“Leading up to Perry’s death, Iwamasa repeatedly injected Perry with the ketamine that Sangha supplied to Fleming,” the US Attorney’s Office wrote. “Specifically, on October 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which caused Perry’s death.”
Notably, the evidence shows Sangha attempting to cover her tracks, taking to the Signal app to discuss with Fleming how to distance themselves from the case after Perry’s death.
“That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to ‘Delete all our messages,’” the document continues.
Two days after Perry’s death, Fleming left Sangha a voicemail on Signal and texted, “Please call… Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected.
“I never dealt with [Perry]. Only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler. Also they are doing a three month tox screening… Does K stay in your system or is it immediately flushed out[?].”
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