Fifth person responsible for Matthew Perry's death arrested

A woman known as the “Ketamine Queen,” accused of selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him, agreed to plead guilty today.

Jasveen Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant in the “ Friends ” star’s overdose death to reach a plea deal with federal prosecutors, avoiding a trial that had been planned for September.

She agreed in a signed statement filed in court to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry's death.

In a brief statement, Sangha's attorney, Mark Geragos, said only: "She is taking responsibility for her actions."

Prosecutors had portrayed Sangha, a 42-year-old citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom, as a prolific drug dealer known to her clients as the “Ketamine Queen,” using the term frequently in press releases and court documents.

She agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-related premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

The final plea agreement came a year after federal prosecutors announced following an extensive investigation that five people had been charged in Perry's death on October 28, 2023.

Sangha admitted in the agreement to having sold four vials of ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury , hours before he died of an overdose in 2019. McLaury had no relationship with Perry.

Prosecutors will drop three other charges related to ketamine distribution and one methamphetamine distribution charge unrelated to Perry's case.

Sangha will officially change his plea to guilty at an upcoming hearing, where sentencing will be scheduled, prosecutors said. He could face up to 45 years in prison. The judge is not required to follow the terms of the plea agreement, but prosecutors said in the document that they will seek less than the maximum.

She and Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who pleaded guilty last month, had been the primary targets of the investigation. Three other defendants—Dr. Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Fleming—pleaded guilty in exchange for their cooperation, which included statements implicating Sangha and Plasencia.

Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by Iwamasa, his assistant. The medical examiner determined that ketamine, typically used as a surgical anesthetic, was the primary cause of death.

Sangha displayed a lavish lifestyle on Instagram, posting photos of herself with wealthy and famous people in cities around the world. Prosecutors said she privately presented herself as a trafficker who sold to the same type of high-class clients.

It's worth noting that Perry struggled with addiction for years, dating back to his time on "Friends," when he became one of the biggest stars of his generation as Chandler Bing. He starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004 on the hit NBC series.

CT