Highlights:
- Matthew Perry’s overdose death led to charges against multiple people
- Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty to supplying ketamine
- Prosecutors stress stronger accountability for drug dealers
- Case linked to broader trend seen in other celebrity deaths
- Authorities increasing focus on targeting drug networks
For years, Jasveen Sangha, known as the 'Ketamine Queen,' ran what prosecutors described as a 'high volume drug trafficking business' from the North Hollywood home. They said she marketed herself as a dealer who sold only to high-profile clients.
Prosecutors said Sangha came from a privileged background but chose to deal drugs "not because of financial deprivation, but for greed, glamor and access."
Everything changed on October 28, 2023, when Friends star Matthew Perry was face down in his hot bath tub at his home in Pacifoc Palisades.
The Los Angeles Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as 'acute effects of ketamine' and drowning.
In August 2024, Sangha and four others were charged in connection with Perry's death.
A year later, Sangha agreed to plead guilty to five federal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to his death. The other four defendants also reached plea deals with prosecutors.
Shortly after the charges, then-US Attorney E. Martin Estrada said, “Defendants nowadays are on full notice that the products they sell could result in the death of another person. Therefore, if you’re in the drug business and despite these risks, you continue in the drug business, you are pushed by greed to gamble with other people’s lives, be advised, we will hold you accountable.”
Perry’s death has been compared to other cases involving drugs.
Rapper Mac Miller died in 2018 from an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, cocaine, and alcohol.
Baseball pitcher Tyler Skaggs died in 2019 with high levels of opioids in his system.
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died in 2014 from a mix of drugs, including heroin and cocaine.
In these cases, people accused of supplying drugs were arrested, though not all were convicted.
Legal experts say these high-profile cases help bring attention to the larger drug crisis.
“The emphasis on high-profile cases largely stems from the visibility they bring to the issue, helping to shed light on the broader implications of the drug crisis,” attorney Andrew Pickett said.
“They serve as a warning to both practitioners operating on the fringes of legality and those facilitating substance abuse,” he added.
As drug-related deaths rise, law enforcement agencies are increasing efforts to target traffickers and dealers.
A Los Angeles police detective said profit is often the main motivation for dealers.
“It all comes down to money, it all comes down to profit,” he said. “The dealer’s main objective is to get you hooked, and if you don’t die from it, then you’re a customer for as long as you live.”
Authorities said Perry had struggled with addiction for many years. He wrote about it in a memoir published less than a year before his death.
“The investigation revealed that in the fall of 2023, Mr. Perry fell back into addiction and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves,” Estrada said.
While investigating Perry’s case, officials said they found a network of doctors and suppliers involved in distributing ketamine.
Another case linked to Sangha involved the 2019 death of Cody McLaury, a personal trainer. Prosecutors said Sangha was connected to both deaths, though she was not charged in McLaury’s case.
McLaury’s sister said she texted Sangha after her brother’s death.
“After his death certificate came out, I texted back and said ‘just so you know the ketamine that you sold my brother was listed as his cause of death,’” she said.
She never received a reply. “I just assumed that she didn’t care,” she added.
Prosecutors said Sangha continued her activities even after these deaths.
“Unfortunately, just like Mr. McLaury’s death, Mr. Perry’s death did not alter defendant’s illegal conduct,” they said.
Now, more than two years after Perry’s death, a judge will decide Sangha’s sentence.
Her lawyers said she has accepted responsibility for her “serious” actions and has spent time in detention improving herself and helping others.
They described her as “a compassionate, selfless, and reliable person who shows up for others in meaningful ways” and asked for a lighter sentence.
Prosecutors, however, are asking for 15 years in prison.
“She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones,” they said.
“(Sangha) had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing – but simply chose not to.”
