What happened in the Matthew Perry ketamine case

Most people remember only the first chapter: Matthew Perry died in October 2023, the medical examiner said ketamine was the primary cause, and then coverage seemed to drift away. But federal prosecutors later described something much broader. In August 2024, the U.S. Attorney's Office said five defendants had been charged in connection with Perry's fatal ketamine supply chain, including two physicians, Perry's live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, an intermediary named Erik Fleming, and alleged dealer Jasveen Sangha, who was described in court filings as the Ketamine Queen.

The key thing people miss is that prosecutors did not frame this as one rogue prescription. They described a supply network. Court filings said Iwamasa admitted repeatedly injecting Perry, including on the day Perry died. Fleming admitted distributing ketamine that had been obtained from Sangha. Prosecutors also alleged that physician Salvador Plasencia and physician Mark Chavez used medical access to obtain and sell ketamine outside legitimate treatment.

The outcome came in waves, not one clean verdict. Plasencia was sentenced in December 2025 to 30 months in federal prison. Chavez was sentenced later that month to home confinement, supervised release, and community service. Jasveen Sangha received 15 years on April 8, 2026. Erik Fleming then received two years on May 13, and Kenneth Iwamasa received 41 months on May 27, completing sentencing for all five defendants.

The larger significance is that this was not just an overdose story. It became a story about a celebrity's addiction being monetized by a chain of suppliers, including licensed professionals, and about how slowly those consequences unfolded in court.