Matthew Perry's 'Ketamine Queen' dealer jailed for 15 years

Jasveen Sangha, a British-American dual citizen, had pleaded guilty to supplying the "Friends" star with the drugs that led to the actor's death in 2023.

A woman who sold the drugs that caused the 2023 death of Canadian-American actor Matthew Perry has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Jasveen Sangha, a 42-year-old dual British-American citizen dubbed the "Ketamine Queen," had pleaded guilty to five felony drug charges in September.

She has been in custody since her arrest in August 2024.

"I take full responsibility for my actions.

These were horrible choices that ultimately proved tragic," Sangha told US District Judge Sherilyn Garnett on Wednesday.

The "Friends" star had spoken publicly about his years-long struggles with substance and alcohol abuse, but had claimed to have been sober during the months before his death.

Federal law enforcement officials said the actor had become addicted to ketamine while he had been undergoing treatment for depression and anxiety at a clinic.

When the clinic refused to increase his dosage, Perry turned to the black market, according to US authorities.

Perry's autopsy concluded that the actor had died from the "acute effects of ketamine," which had led to him losing consciousness and drowning in his hot tub.

Ketamine is a potent anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties.

It is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other disorders, but it is also a popular illicit party drug.

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What was the case against the 'Ketamine Queen'?

The prosecution accused her of supplying Perry, who had struggled with addiction for years, with ketamine and other drugs.

Prosecutors said she had sold the beloved actor more than 50 doses of the anesthetic via an intermediary, Erik Fleming, in the weeks before Perry's death.

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What about the other defendants in the case?

Fleming sold the drugs to Perry's live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who administered the three shots of ketamine that led to the actor's death.

Fleming and Iwamasa have not yet been sentenced.

Sangha's defense attorney, Mark Geragos, had called for her sentence to be limited to her time already served in custody since she was detained in 2024, around one year and eight months.

"There's no way that Jasveen is five times more culpable than the person who injected Matthew Perry with the drug, or the doctor who got the drug," Geragos told reporters outside the court in Los Angeles after the hearing.

Sangha had faced a possible sentence of up to 65 years.

Prosecutors had recommended 15 years.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher