'Ketamine Queen' pleads guilty in Matthew Perry overdose case

Jasveen Sangha, a 42-year-old woman widely described in court documents as the “Ketamine Queen,” pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles to five charges, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury in the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry.

Prosecutors said Sangha provided the ketamine that led to Perry’s death and agreed to a plea that also includes counts of maintaining a drug-involved premises and multiple counts of distribution of ketamine. She is in federal custody and a sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 10 in Los Angeles.

Federal prosecutors had described Sangha as a prolific dealer and said her Los Angeles home was a "drug-selling emporium." During a raid, agents found dozens of small vials of ketamine, according to court filings. Sangha originally faced nine criminal counts; the plea resolves five of those counts and prosecutors agreed to dismiss additional charges as part of the agreement.

Sangha, a dual U.S.-U.K. national, had initially pleaded not guilty but told the court in August that she would change her plea. Her attorney, Mark Geragos, said at the time, "She's taking responsibility for her actions." Under the deal, Sangha becomes the fifth and final defendant charged in the case to accept a guilty plea, following other agreements with individuals said to have supplied ketamine to Perry.

Perry, best known for his role on the sitcom Friends, was found unresponsive in an outdoor hot tub at his Los Angeles home in October 2023. A medical examination concluded the death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Federal authorities have alleged that multiple people, including medical professionals and Perry’s assistant, supplied the actor with ketamine and other substances, sometimes for profit and at times exploiting his known struggles with addiction.

Prosecutors have portrayed the case as involving a network of suppliers who repeatedly provided the actor with the drug. Sangha’s guilty pleas include one count that ties her distribution of ketamine directly to bodily injury or death, a charge that carries enhanced penalties under federal law.

At the change-of-plea hearing, court records noted the plea agreement and the elements of the offenses to which Sangha admitted. She remains in custody pending the Dec. 10 sentencing. Federal prosecutors did not immediately release further details about how the sentence recommendation in the plea deal might be calculated.

The case has drawn widespread attention because of Perry’s public profile and because it encompasses allegations that those close to the actor and licensed professionals supplied controlled substances that contributed to his fatal overdose. The guilty pleas in the case close a chapter of the federal prosecution, with sentencing the remaining step in Sangha’s criminal proceedings.