The charges, announced Thursday morning at a press conference in Los Angeles, come after investigators say they uncovered an underground network of drug sellers and suppliers they allege are responsible for distributing the ketamine, a potentially deadly drug, that killed Perry.
The defendants include two doctors, Perry’s live-in personal assistant and a person referred to by authorities as “The Ketamine Queen,” according to a press release from the US Attorney’s office. US Attorney Martin Estrada said the defendants “took advantage of Mr. Perry’s addiction issues.”
“They knew what they were doing was wrong,” Estrada said. Three of the five charged have reached a plea agreement. The other two defendants Dr. Salvador Plasencia, of Santa Monica, California, and Jasveen Sangha, who Estrada said ran what amounted to “a drug selling emporium” in her home, were indicted on Wednesday, the US Attorney said.
Plasencia pleaded not guilty to charges including one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the federal investigation. He was held on a $100,000 unsecured bond and surrendered his DEA license, which allowed him to prescribe controlled substances, on an order from Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar. His trial is set for October 8.
Sangha pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
The judge revoked a bond Sangha previously had from another charge that was not shared during court and ordered she remain in detention. Prosecutors argued she is a “significant risk to flee” given her extensive international travel and dual United States and British citizenship and that she appears to be funding herself through drug sales.
CNN has reached out to attorneys for Plasencia and Sangha for comment. The beloved actor who starred as Chandler Bing on “Friends” died in October 2023 at the age of 54. Perry was found floating face down in a stand-alone jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home. The actor died as a result of “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy report.
“Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in the press release. “Every day, the DEA works tirelessly with our federal, state, and local partners to protect the public and to hold accountable those that distribute deadly and dangerous drugs – whether they are local drug traffickers or doctors who violate their sworn oath to care for patients.”
CNN has reached out to representatives for Perry’s foundation and his “Friends” castmates for comment on the charges announced Thursday.
