Two doctors among five charged in death of Matthew Perry

LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities have filed drug charges against five individuals, including two medical doctors, in connection with the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry, authorities said Thursday.

The two lead defendants are Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen,” and Salvador Plasencia, nicknamed “Dr. P,” according to U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada.

They are facing charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, distribution of the drug resulting in death, possession with intent to distribute and altering and falsifying records related to a federal investigation, among other charges, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Estrada said during a news conference that the defendants “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction to enrich themselves.”

“These defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr. Perry than caring about his well-being,” Estrada said.

A month before Perry’s death, Plasencia learned that the actor was interested in obtaining ketamine, a legal medication commonly used as an anesthetic. It can be abused recreationally, with users drawn to it for its disassociative effects.

After learning of Perry’s interest, Plasencia contacted Dr. Mark Chavez, who previously operated a ketamine clinic, to obtain the drug to sell to Perry.

In text messages to Chavez, Plasencia discussed how much to charge Perry for the ketamine, stating, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” according to court records.

The doctors distributed 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash. Sangha sold about 50 vials of the drug to the actor for $11,000, Estrada said.

Chavez, 54, has agreed to plead guilty to a count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, authorities said.

In mid-October, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, also began obtaining ketamine for Perry from Sangha and a street dealer, Eric Fleming, court records show.

Federal prosecutors allege Plasencia taught Iwamasa how to inject Perry with ketamine, sold the assistant the drug and left vials of it for Iwamasa to inject into the actor. Iwamasa also is accused of injecting Perry with the drug inside a car in a Long Beach parking lot at one point, authorities said.

Fleming, 54, who authorities say distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, pleaded guilty this month to a count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and a count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

Iwamasa, 59, pleaded guilty this month to a count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He also admitted to injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including performing several injections on the actor the day he died, authorities said.

Perry was found dead in the hot tub of his swimming pool at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28. Trace amounts of ketamine – which is sometimes used to treat depression – were found in his stomach, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.

But the level found in his blood was about the same as would be used during general anesthesia, his autopsy showed.

As part of a months-long probe, investigators said they executed a search warrant at Sangha’s residence in North Hollywood, known as the “Sangha Stash House,” where they discovered what Estrada called a “drug-selling emporium.”

Inside the home, authorities said they found 79 vials of ketamine, just over three pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine and prescription drugs that appeared to be obtained fraudulently.

During the March 19 raid, authorities also found a green journal with handwritten notes that detailed thousands of dollars in drug transactions, according to federal prosecutors.

The investigation, Estrada said Thursday, “revealed a broad underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.”

The drug in Perry’s system caused cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression, the medical examiner reported. Other contributing factors in his death included drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid-use disorder.

The autopsy report noted that Perry had no other drugs in his system and had been 19 months sober at the time of his death. There was no evidence of illicit drugs or paraphernalia at his home. What investigators didn’t know at the time was that Perry’s ketamine addiction was apparently spiraling out of control, federal prosecutors said.

The medical examiner also noted that Perry, 54, had diabetes and suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which refers to a group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems. He at one time had a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit.

A coroner’s investigator interviewed a person close to Perry who described him as in “good spirits” and said he had quit smoking two weeks before his death and was weaning himself off ketamine.

Ketamine is increasingly offered “off label” at private clinics in an effort to treat depression and other mental health disorders. In 2006, the National Institute of Mental Health concluded that an intravenous dose of ketamine had rapid antidepressant effects.

Experts have said ketamine is generally safe and there are few reported overdoses. However, people are at a higher risk of bad outcomes if they have underlying conditions, such as high blood pressure or breathing problems.

Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.