Matthew Perry’s Assistant Among 5 Charged in Actor’s Overdose Death

Matthew Perry at the Disney ABC Television Group Summer 2010 Press Tour, Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA. 08-01-10 — Photo by s_bukley/Deposit Photos

Several arrests were made on Thursday in connection with the death of Friends star Matthew Perry.

A total of five people, including Perry’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, have been charged in the case, federal and local authorities said at an Aug. 15 news conference in Los Angeles.

Three of the defendants have already pleaded guilty to federal drug charges, including Iwamasa, Dr. Mark Chavez, and Eric Fleming.

The two others, Jasveen Sangha, an alleged drug dealer nicknamed the “ketamine queen,” and a second physician named  Dr. Salvador Plasencia were taken into custody on Aug. 15. Both appeared in court later in the day and pleaded not guilty.

Related: ‘Friends’ Cast Left ‘Utterly Devastated’ by Matthew Perry’s Death

An 18-count  superseding indictment alleged Iwamasa, 59, injected Perry, 54, with the prescription drug ketamine on the day he died, Oct. 28, 2023. 

The indictment also alleged Sangha was the one who gave Iwamasa the drug to use on Perry. 

Perry had a history of substance abuse. The actor detailed his addiction battle in his 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

Authorities said the five defendants orchestrated a scheme to make money off of Perry and allegedly sold him vials of drugs for $2,000 each that cost one of the doctors $12 per vial.

“These defendants took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues to enrich themselves. They knew what they were doing was wrong,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said at Thursday’s news conference.

In a text message, one doctor said, “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” according to an indictment that was unsealed on Thursday.

Estrada said Perry paid the doctors about $55,000 in cash in the two months before he died.

The family of NBC’s Dateline host Keith Morrison, who is the stepfather of Perry, released a statement to NBC after news of the arrests broke.

“We were and still are heartbroken by Matthew’s death, but it has helped to know law enforcement has taken his case very seriously,” the family said. “We look forward to justice taking its course.”

Perry was found unresponsive in a pool at his Pacific Palisades home and pronounced deceased at the scene.

Both local and federal authorities began investigating in May 2024 to figure out how exactly the Friends actor obtained the drug. 

It was the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner that announced the death was due to the effects of ketamine. 

The medical examiner’s autopsy report said the actor had been undergoing ketamine infusion treatments to help with his depression and anxiety.

Perry’s last treatment had been more than a week ago before his death, meaning that the ketamine that was found in his system at the time of death was not from his ongoing treatments. 

After the medical examiner’s findings were released, the LAPD stepped in to investigate along with the DEA.

Anita Bennett contributed to this report.