‘Ketamine Queen’ Dealer Who Sold Fatal Dose to Matthew Perry Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

Jasveen Sangha, the dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen” who sold the fatal dose of drugs to Friends star Matthew Perry, was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday.

Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in the hot tub at his Los Angeles home in 2023. Besides his ten-year stint as Chandler Bing, he also starred in films including The Whole Nine Yards and Fools Rush In, plus television roles on The West Wing, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, and The Good Wife. His final television appearance was in 2021 on Friends: The Reunion with his other castmates.

He spoke openly about his struggles with drug and alcohol addictions, and released a memoir in 2022 titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. His death was ruled by the Los Angeles Medical Examiner to be from acute effects of ketamine, exacerbated by drowning, coronary artery disease, and buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder and pain.

Sangha, 42, was charged in connection with Perry’s death. Prosecutors emphasized her reputation as a high-end drug dealer to celebrity customers who referred to her as the “Ketamine Queen,” and presented evidence that she had made contact with Perry by offering a sample to his personal assistant, Kenneth Iwasama, who later bought 50 vials for Perry for about $11,000 and was also charged for his role in the actor’s death. Two doctors and another dealer involved in providing ketamine to Perry were also charged with crimes.

When Sangha’s home was raided, investigators “said they found cocaine, 79 vials of ketamine and three pounds of orange pills containing methamphetamine,” reported The New York Times.

Prosecutors said that after the news broke that Perry had died, Sangha rushed to destroy any proof she was involved, instructing her associate to “delete all our messages” about providing ketamine for him.

Sangha pleaded guilty last August to five federal criminal charges, including three counts of distribution of ketamine, one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury, and one count of “maintaining a drug-involved premises.”

Sangha was facing a maximum of 65 years in prison. Prosecutors agreed to a plea agreement in which she would receive a 15-year sentence, followed by three years of supervised release, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Debbie Perry, the late actor’s stepmother, sent a letter to the court urging the judge to sentence Sangha to “the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours,” the LA Times report noted.

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