They called her the “Ketamine Queen.”
Authorities say Jasveen Sangha sold ketamine — also known as “Dr. Pepper” — in clear glass vials with no markings and touted it as high quality in Signal messages. She allegedly referred to her source as a “master chef” and a “scientist.”
“She only deals with high end celebrities,” someone in her network reportedly messaged a potential buyer. “She would lose business if it wasn’t great stuff.”
Federal prosecutors alleged Thursday that one of Sangha’s most famous customers was Matthew Perry. Authorities say she sold the actor about 50 vials of the drug for $11,000 — including the batch that led to his death on Oct. 28 at age 54.
US Attorney Martin Estrada said the investigation revealed “an extensive underground criminal network” responsible for distributing large amounts of ketamine to Perry and others. He announced charges against five people, including Sangha, 41, and two doctors, connected to Perry’s death.
According to an indictment unsealed Thursday, he faces multiple charges, including causing death by distributing drugs.
ketamine, a legal drug that is commonly used as an anesthetic, In recent years, it has gained popularity as a clinical treatment for depression and as a recreational drug. But Perry’s death and subsequent arrests have raised questions about whether any action is likely to be taken.
“I think what you have seen is that this is not the beginning, but the continuation of the enforcement effort against all forms of synthetic drugs,” Estrada said.
Estrada referenced the opioid fentanyl, which has fueled the overdose epidemic, and said officers are “conducting a campaign to combat that and send the message that if you sell drugs that result in the death of another person, there will be severe consequences.”
Ketamine use has surged across the country, medical experts say, driven by clinics and online services providing intravenous treatments and prescriptions — such as lozenges and nasal sprays — for home use Illnesses, including depressionPost-traumatic stress and substance use disorders.
Texas-based psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker supervisor Carol Gilson has conducted more than 3,000 ketamine-assisted therapy sessions.
“If you look at the reports of people who have died with ketamine, there’s usually an underlying health problem and other things that are the cause of death,” he said. “I think we’re seeing ketamine being demonized right now.”
Perry, who was found dead in a hot tub at his home in Los Angeles, suffered from diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can cause airflow obstruction and breathing-related problems. He had reportedly quit smoking only two weeks before his death and at one point smoked two packs of cigarettes a day.
According to the medical examiner, other factors that contributed to his death included drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (a medication used to treat opioid addiction).
Gilson said he has personally seen hundreds of people experience mental health improvements after taking ketamine in a therapeutic setting.
Gilson said the bad guys who sold Perry ketamine, which he took at home without supervision, have made it even more difficult to get the word out about its medical benefits.
“Ketamine is a valuable drug. And my biggest fear is that it’s at risk, and it’s because of people like this,” she said. “There are people with medical licenses who are expected to follow an ethical code, but they don’t. That’s the issue here. Ketamine is not the villain.”
Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram said Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic “where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine.”
“When the doctors at the clinic refused to increase his dosage, he went to unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make a quick buck,” Milgram said.
Authorities said Perry relied on a combination of medical professionals and street dealers, and purchased and used the drug with the help of his assistant.
According to the indictment, when another accused illegal dealer, Salvador Plascencia, aka “Dr. P,” learned in September 2023 that Perry was interested in obtaining ketamine, he contacted another doctor, Mark Chavez, about purchasing the drug.
“I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” Plasencia, 42, allegedly texted Chavez. “Let’s find out.”
According to Estrada, the doctors delivered about 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000 in cash from September to October 2023. He charged Perry $2,000 for a vial that cost Chavez $12, authorities said.
“Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to profit from Mr. Perry,” Estrada said. “As a doctor, defendant Plasencia was well aware how dangerous what he was doing was.”
According to the indictment, on one occasion Plasencia gave Perry a large dose of ketamine, which caused the actor to have chills and significantly increased his blood pressure. Despite this, he left extra vials of the drug with Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who is also charged.
“As Matthew Perry’s ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more and he wanted it quickly and cheaply,” Milgram said. “So he started buying from street dealers.”
In October, Iwamasa contacted Eric Fleming, 54, to purchase ketamine.
When police searched Sangha’s home, they found “a major drug operation,” Estrada said. Authorities say there were about 80 vials of ketamine, thousands of pills containing methamphetamine, cocaine and bottles of Xanax and other illegally obtained prescription drugs.
Prosecutors say Sangha knew about the dangers of ketamine at least since August 2019, when he allegedly sold the drug to Cody McLaury just hours before his overdose death at age 33.
After a family member of McLaury messaged Sangha informing him that McLaury had died from ketamine, Sangha reportedly searched “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death(?)” on Google. Sangha also faces charges in connection to McLaury’s death.
Estrada said those arrested after Perry’s death tried to hide what they did.
Sangha allegedly asked Fleming to delete all their messages. According to Estrada, Plasencia manipulated medical records and notes to “make it look like what he was doing was legitimate.”
The records showed a medical treatment plan for Perry that claimed he was being given a maximum dose of 60 milligrams in 24 hours. In reality, prosecutors say Perry was injecting far higher doses.
Fleming and Chavez, 54, both pleaded guilty this month to charges of illegal drug distribution. Iwamasa, 59, also pleaded guilty and admitted to injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including giving him multiple injections on the day the actor died, authorities said. Chavez could face 10 years in prison, Iwamasa 15 years and Fleming 25 years.
Plasencia faces up to 120 years in prison, while Sangha could face life in prison.
Plasencia and Sangha were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday and were not available for comment.
“By filing these broad and serious charges, we are sending a clear message. If you are in the business of selling dangerous drugs, we will hold you accountable for the deaths you cause,” Estrada said.
News of Thursday’s charges came as both a surprise and concern to many in the country’s ketamine-using community.
Ren, a 32-year-old surgical technician who requested anonymity to discuss her medical history and substance abuse, said she takes thousands of milligrams of ketamine each month, prescribed by a New York-based online provider that ships the drug in pill form to her home in Salt Lake City.
She said she was surprised by how easy it was for her to get a prescription through the provider, one of several startups that have attracted scrutiny from the broader medical community because they deliver ketamine based on little more than a brief online consultation.
“I could have said anything. I just said I had concerns and they said, ‘You’re accepted.’ Then they mailed me ketamine,” Ren said. “I didn’t even talk to a doctor the first time to get access to it. It was a clinic employee who didn’t even have a degree.”
She said she was not surprised by reports that people had been harmed after becoming addicted to ketamine provided by street-side dealers and unscrupulous online clinics, like the one where she is a patient.
Ren said he believes some medical providers and dealers are more concerned about their profits than safety.
“They don’t care,” she said. “They want my money.”
Staff writers Hannah Fry, Nathan Solis and Richard Winton contributed reporting.
