Prosecutors have outlined their case against Matthew Perry’s doctors and personal assistant and say they exploited the actor’s addiction for their own benefit. In the weeks leading up to the Friends star’s death, one of his doctors referred to him as a “moron” in text messages, and a drug dealer who allegedly supplied him with ketamine called him “Chandler” – the character he played in the 1990s hit comedy.
US Attorney Martin Estrada states that two doctors, Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, worked in tandem with Jasveen Sangha, an alleged drug dealer known as the “ketamine Queen,” to supply the drug to the actor. His live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa helped to administer it. Iwamasa allegedly injected Perry with ketamine on the day of his death last October. Post-mortem results showed that several times the prescribed amount was in his body when he died at his Los Angeles home.
Mr. Perry began using ketamine to treat depression and anxiety, but reports indicate that he was otherwise “clean” in the year leading up to his death, having struggled with alcohol and drug addiction since his teens. Mr. Estrada said the team surrounding the actor took advantage of his vulnerabilities for financial gain, noting that the alleged drug dealer charged him $2,000 for a vial of ketamine that would usually cost just $12.
Of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death, three have reportedly reached plea deals with prosecutors. Dr. Salvador Plasencia, of Santa Monica, has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine, and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records. He was released on a $100,000 bond and surrendered his DEA license, which allows him to prescribe drugs.
Court documents state that Dr. Mark Chavez provided Dr. Plasencia with the ketamine, and in a 2023 text message, Plasencia allegedly asked, “I wonder what this moron will pay.” Dr. Plasencia regularly purchased the drug from Chavez and taught Iwasama how to administer it, prosecutors claim. If convicted, the doctor faces a decades-long prison sentence.
