The Los Angeles woman who pleaded guilty to illegally selling Matthew Perry the drug that killed him is set to be sentenced Wednesday.
Jasveen Sangha — dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors for running an elaborate, high-end drug operation — will become the third of five defendants sentenced who have pleaded guilty in connection with the 2023 overdose of the 54-year-old actor.
Sangha, 42, is the only one whose plea deal included an acknowledgment of causing Perry’s death.
Members of Perry’s family are expected to speak in court ahead of Sangha’s sentencing.
In a March 25 filing, prosecutors asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to sentence Sangha, a dual U.S.-U.K. citizen, to 15 years in prison, followed by three years’ supervised release.
When Sangha learned she had sold the drugs that caused Perry’s death, “she didn’t care and kept selling,” prosecutors wrote in the filing.
Prosecutors also noted that Sangha’s “actions show that she suspected the drugs she had sold Mr. Perry may have caused his death, so she sought to destroy digital evidence that she and a co-conspirator possessed that would link them to the deadly drug deal.”
Her “actions show a cold callousness and disregard for life. She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones,” prosecutors said.
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“That defendant had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing — but simply chose not to,” the filing added.
Sangha’s lawyers said in their sentencing filing that the time she has spent in jail since her August 2024 indictment should be sufficient, and claimed that the prosecutor’s math on federal sentencing guidelines is “factually wrong.” They point to her lack of a previous criminal record and exemplary behaviour as an inmate, as well as the unlikelihood she would return to a life of drug dealing.
Her lawyers said she has been maintaining sobriety in jail and organizing and leading Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
Perry’s stepmother described how his family has suffered “irreversible” pain from his death in a victim impact statement.
The statement, filed by prosecutors on April 7 and obtained by Global News, was submitted the day before Sangha’s sentencing.
“The pain you’ve caused to hundreds maybe thousands is irreversible. There is no joy to be found, no light in the window,” Debbie Perry, who is married to Perry’s father, John Bennett Perry, wrote. “They won’t be back. That thought comes through our day everyday.”
Debbie said there is “no escape,” adding, “You caused this, you who has talent for business, enough to make money, chose the one way that hurts people.”
“How sad for you. How will you ever find joy. Have you ever found joy? How sad for you. How sad for us all. We miss him,” Debbie wrote.
“To the court. Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours,” Debbie’s letter concluded.
Perry was found dead in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. The medical examiner ruled that ketamine was the primary cause of death.
The Friends star had been using the drug through his regular doctor as a legal off-label treatment for depression, but he wanted more than the doctor would give him. That at first led him to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling Perry ketamine. He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after prosecutors asked for three years.
It also later led Perry to Sangha, who sold him 25 vials of ketamine, including the fatal dose, for $6,000 in cash four days before his death, prosecutors said.
Another doctor, who admitted to providing Plasencia the ketamine he sold to Perry, was sentenced to eight months of home detention. Perry’s assistant and his friend, who admitted to serving as the actor’s middlemen, are awaiting sentencing.
In September, Sangha pleaded guilty to one count of using her home for drug distribution, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. She also admitted to selling drugs to another man, 33-year-old Cody McLaury — who had no connection to Perry — before his overdose death in 2019.
— With files from The Associated Press
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