LA Doctor Admits to Selling Drugs in Matthew Perry OD Case

A California doctor has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he illegally provided the powerful
anesthetic to Friends actor Matthew Perry in the weeks leading up to Perry’s death in 2023. Dr.
Salvador Plasencia signed a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central
District of California. It could send Plasencia to prison for up to 40 years.

A federal grand jury indicted Plasencia in August 2024 on charges he sold ketamine to Perry
over a four-week period in September and October 2023. The last sale took place on October
27, the day before Perry died. Perry, 54, was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his home on
October 28, 2023. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined Perry died from the
acute effects of ketamine. The plea agreement notes that the dose that killed Perry was not
provided by Plasencia.

Ketamine is a general anesthetic whose medical risks require a health care professional to
monitor a patient who had just been given the drug. Plasencia admitted he often administered
doses of the ketamine he sold to Perry, but left additional doses with Perry’s personal assistant,
Kenneth Iwamassa. Iwamassa pleaded guilty to charges he administered the fatal dose.
Three other people were also indicted as part of the conspiracy to get the drugs to Perry, an
admitted drug addict who had openly discussed his struggles with addiction and recovery
efforts. Erik Fleming pleaded guilty to charges he provided the ketamine that Iwamassa injected
into Perry on the day Perry died. Dr. Mark Chavez of San Diego pleaded guilty to providing
many of the doses that Plasencia sold to Perry. According to a news release issued at the time
of the indictments, Plasencia contacted Chavez – a former ketamine clinic operator – to obtain
ketamine to sell to Perry. The release reported Plasencia sent Chavez text messages asking how
much to charge Perry for the ketamine, stating, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and
“Lets [sic] find out.”

A fifth defendant awaits trial on the charges. Jasveen Sangha is accused of providing the
ketamine to Fleming before he sold it to Iwamassa. The U.S. Attorney’s Office news released
called Sangha “The Ketamine Queen.” She and Plasencia were schedule for trial in March, but
that trial was delayed.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency reports ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has some
hallucinogenic effects. It is abused for its ability to produce dissociative sensations and
hallucinations. Ketamine has also been used to facilitate sexual assault. While ketamine itself is
not FDA-approved for psychiatric disorders, it is legally prescribed “off-label” in some cases for
depression, particularly treatment-resistant depression. In his plea agreement, Plasencia
admitted that his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care and that transfers of
ketamine for Perry’s use were not for a legitimate medical purpose.

In exchange for the guilty plea on four counts, prosecutors agreed to dismiss 14 other counts in
the indictment. Plasencia faces sentencing of up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine, plus
unspecified restitution costs. No sentencing date has been set.