Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen" on Monday struck a deal with federal prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to supplying the drug that killed 'Friends' actor Matthew Perry.
Sangha, who was set to go on trial in September, will plead guilty to a total of five federal charges, news agency Reuters reported, citing a statement from the Department of Justice.
She reportedly has agreed to plead guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of ketamine distribution, and one count of distribution of ketamine, resulting in death or grave bodily injury.
The 42-year-old, whom the prosecutors dubbed a prolific drug dealer, is accused of selling Matthew Perry the batch of ketamine that led to the 'Friends' actor's fatal overdose in October 2023.
Prosecutors said that Sangha will officially change her plea to guilty during an upcoming hearing, where the court will also schedule her sentencing. The 'Ketamine Queen' reportedly could get up to 45 years in prison.
Who is Jasveen Sangha?
Jasveen Sangha also reportedly admitted in the agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to one Cody McLaury, just hours before he died from an overdose in 2019.
{{/usCountry}}Jasveen Sangha also reportedly admitted in the agreement to selling four vials of ketamine to one Cody McLaury, just hours before he died from an overdose in 2019.
{{/usCountry}}Besides Jasveen Sangha, Dr Salvador Plasencia, who signed his plea deal on June 16, had also been the key target of the investigation. The other three defendants in the case are Dr Mark Chavez, Kenneth Iwamasa and Erik Fleming, who agreed to plead guilty last year in exchange for their cooperation. Their deal also included statements that implicated Sangha and Plasencia.
On October 28, 2023, Matthew Perry was found dead in his Los Angeles home by his assistant, Iwamasa. His post-mortem examination ruled that ketamine, typically a surgical anaesthetic, was the primary cause of the actor's death.
While initially Perry was getting the drug from his regular doctors as a legal treatment for depression, he later began to seek more ketamine than his doctor would provide him. Prosecutors said that he began getting it from Plasencia around a month before his death, then started to get some more from Sangha about two weeks before his death.
Perry bought massive amounts of ketamine from Jasveen Sangha, including 25 vials for $6,000 in cash four days before his death, with Fleming and Iwamasa acting as middlemen.
On the day of the 'Friends' actor's death, Sangha told Fleming they should delete all the messages they sent each other, The Associated Press reported, citing the Ketamine Queen's indictment.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had raided Jasveen Sangha's home in North Hollywood, California, in March 2024. According to an affidavit from an agent, the DEA team found large amounts of methamphetamines and ketamine. She was then indicted in June last year, arrested that August, and has been in jail since.