‘Ketamine Queen’ to plead guilty in Matthew Perry overdose case

A San Fernando Valley woman known as the “Ketamine Queen” has agreed to plead guilty to multiple federal charges in connection with the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, the US Department of Justice announced on Monday.

Jasveen Sangha, 42, of North Hollywood, will admit to five felony counts, including maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distributing ketamine, and one count of distribution resulting in death or serious injury. Federal prosecutors said Sangha supplied the ketamine that ultimately caused Perry’s fatal overdose in October 2023.

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Sangha, who holds dual US and UK citizenship, has been in custody since August 2024. She is expected to formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks and faces decades behind bars. Under the terms of her plea, she could receive up to 20 years in prison for maintaining a drug premises, 10 years for each distribution charge, and up to 15 years for distribution leading to death.

According to court documents, Sangha conspired with Erik Fleming, 55, of Hawthorne, to supply 51 vials of ketamine to Perry through his personal assistant, 60-year-old Kenneth Iwamasa. Prosecutors said Iwamasa injected Perry with the drug multiple times on the day of his death, including at least three shots from Sangha’s supply on October 28, 2023.

After news of Perry’s death broke, Sangha allegedly took steps to conceal her role. She used the encrypted messaging app Signal to urge Fleming to delete their conversations and discussed how to distance themselves from the fallout.

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Sangha’s plea deal also links her to a 2019 fatal overdose. She admitted to selling four vials of ketamine to 24-year-old Cody McLaury, who died hours later. In addition, prosecutors said Sangha ran a narcotics operation out of her North Hollywood home, where investigators discovered methamphetamine, MDMA, counterfeit pills, cocaine, ketamine, and drug trafficking paraphernalia during a 2023 raid.

The case extends beyond Sangha; four other defendants, including a physician and Perry’s assistant, have also pleaded guilty to related charges and await sentencing in the coming months.