Jasveen Sangha is a British-American woman from the Los Angeles area who pleaded guilty in the federal case connected to Matthew Perry’s fatal ketamine overdose. Federal prosecutors portrayed her as a high-volume ketamine and narcotics supplier and used the nickname “Ketamine Queen” in charging documents and public statements. On April 8, 2026, a federal judge sentenced Sangha to 15 years—180 months—in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Source note: The case facts in this article are drawn primarily from U.S. Department of Justice charging and plea materials and the federal judgment. Details from defense materials and secondary reporting are identified as such. The wording distinguishes facts established through Sangha’s guilty plea from prosecution characterizations and less-certain biographical claims.
Why Jasveen Sangha is connected to Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry, the actor best known for playing Chandler Bing on Friends, died in October 2023 from the acute effects of ketamine. According to Sangha’s plea agreement and the Justice Department’s account, she supplied ketamine that reached Perry through an intermediary and Perry’s live-in assistant.
Erik Fleming acted as an intermediary in the transactions, while Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, received and administered ketamine to Perry. Sangha admitted that 51 vials were sold in October 2023 and that at least three injections administered on October 28 involved ketamine supplied through her. The plea materials therefore connect her admitted distribution conduct to the ketamine involved in Perry’s death; they do not mean that every vial sold during that month was necessarily administered to Perry.
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Ketamine itself has legitimate medical uses. The federal case concerned the illegal distribution of the drug and the specific conduct described in the plea agreement and judgment—not a claim that all ketamine use is inherently illicit.
What charges did Sangha plead guilty to?
Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal counts in 2025. The federal judgment identifies the convictions as:
| Count category | What it covered |
|---|---|
| Maintaining a drug-involved premises | Her North Hollywood residence, which the government said was used to store, package and distribute narcotics. |
| Three ketamine-distribution counts | Separate federal counts involving the illegal distribution of ketamine. |
| Distribution of ketamine resulting in death while aiding and abetting | The count connecting the distribution conduct to the fatal ketamine overdose involving Perry. |
In August 2025, prosecutors announced that Sangha had agreed to plead guilty. She formally entered the plea on September 3, 2025. The plea agreement resolved the case without a jury trial, and the judgment states that the remaining counts were dismissed under the plea resolution.
That distinction matters: Sangha was convicted pursuant to her guilty plea. She was not found guilty by a jury after a trial. Although the charges carried substantial statutory maximum penalties, the final sentence was imposed by the federal district judge rather than automatically dictated by the plea agreement.
Her sentence: 15 years in federal prison
On April 8, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced Sangha to 180 months, or 15 years, in federal prison. The judgment also imposed three years of supervised release after her prison term.
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The court recommended that the Bureau of Prisons consider Sangha for its Residential Drug Abuse Program. That recommendation is not a guarantee that she will be admitted to the program, nor does it change the sentence imposed by the court.
The sentence was the result of the federal judgment following her guilty plea. It should not be described as a jury verdict or as a sentence imposed automatically when she signed the plea agreement.
Why was she called the “Ketamine Queen”?
“Ketamine Queen” was a nickname used by federal prosecutors and repeated in charging documents and news coverage. It is not an official occupation, legal classification or court designation.
The label reflected prosecutors’ portrayal of Sangha as a prominent supplier who operated a high-volume drug-trafficking business from her North Hollywood home. Prosecutors also described her as marketing herself as a selective dealer with a so-called VIP circle of customers seeking ketamine and other narcotics. Those phrases describe the government’s characterization of the case and should be attributed to prosecutors rather than presented as neutral biographical titles.
What did Sangha admit about the 2019 overdose?
Sangha’s plea agreement included an admission that she sold four vials of ketamine to Cody McLaury in August 2019. The agreement stated that McLaury died hours later from a drug overdose.
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This part of the story is best described as an admission contained in the plea agreement. It should not be inflated into a separate jury finding or used to suggest that every allegation made during the broader investigation was independently proved at trial.
What did investigators find at her North Hollywood residence?
According to Justice Department charging and plea materials, a March 2024 search of Sangha’s residence recovered approximately:
- 1.7 kilograms of pressed pills containing methamphetamine;
- 79 vials of liquid ketamine;
- MDMA tablets;
- counterfeit Xanax pills;
- powdered ketamine and cocaine;
- packaging materials and a scale;
- a money-counting machine;
- a signal and hidden-camera detector; and
- $5,723 in cash.
The same materials stated that Sangha had used the North Hollywood residence since at least June 2019 to store, package and distribute narcotics. These details come from government records and should be attributed to those records. The existence of an item listed in a search report does not, by itself, explain how that item related to every individual count of conviction.
What is known about Sangha’s background?
The Justice Department identified Sangha as a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom and as a North Hollywood resident. That is the most firmly documented public description of her nationality and residence in the federal case materials.
Reporting based on defense filings and biographical materials has described Sangha as being of Punjabi origin, born or raised partly in England, and later living in Southern California. Those details are less consistently documented in primary public records, so they should be treated as attributed background rather than as a fully verified official biography.
Some reports, relying primarily on defense sentencing materials, have said that she attended the University of California, Irvine, and Hult International Business School. Publicly available case records do not provide a reliable basis for adding an exact birth date, a net-worth estimate, relationship details, family-business history or a list of celebrity clients. Those claims should not be repeated as settled fact without a specific, reliable source.
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Sangha was one of five defendants charged in connection with Perry’s death. The other defendants were:
- Salvador Plasencia, a physician;
- Mark Chavez, a physician;
- Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant; and
- Erik Fleming, who acted as an intermediary in some of the ketamine transactions.
The investigation involved the Los Angeles Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, according to the Justice Department. The defendants did not all face identical charges or receive identical legal outcomes. Sangha’s sentence reflects her own guilty plea, admitted conduct and convictions; it should not be used to imply that she alone was legally responsible for every act alleged in the broader case.
A timeline of the case
- At least June 2019: The plea materials said Sangha’s North Hollywood residence was being used to store, package and distribute narcotics by this point.
- August 2019: Sangha admitted selling four ketamine vials to Cody McLaury. The plea agreement stated that McLaury died hours later from an overdose.
- October 2023: According to the plea agreement and Justice Department account, 51 ketamine vials were sold and ketamine supplied through Sangha reached Perry through Fleming and Iwamasa.
- October 28, 2023: At least three injections administered to Perry involved ketamine supplied through Sangha, according to the plea materials.
- March 2024: Investigators searched Sangha’s residence and reported recovering ketamine, other drugs, distribution materials, equipment and cash.
- August 2025: Prosecutors announced Sangha’s agreement to plead guilty to five federal charges.
- September 3, 2025: Sangha formally pleaded guilty.
- April 8, 2026: Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed a 15-year federal prison sentence and three years of supervised release.
What is fact, what is an allegation and what remains uncertain?
A careful account of Sangha’s story separates several kinds of information:
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- Judgment-established facts: Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal counts and was sentenced to 180 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
- Admissions in the plea agreement: Sangha admitted conduct involving ketamine distribution, including the 2019 sale to McLaury and the 2023 supply chain that led to ketamine being administered to Perry.
- Government characterizations: Terms such as “Ketamine Queen,” “high-volume dealer” and “VIP circle” reflect prosecutors’ descriptions and are not official titles.
- Less-certain biography: Claims about Punjabi heritage, time spent in England and educational history come mainly from defense materials or secondary reporting and should be presented with attribution.
This distinction is especially important because the case involves a public figure’s death, controlled substances and highly attention-grabbing descriptions. The federal judgment and plea agreement are stronger authorities for the legal facts than unsourced social-media posts, celebrity-client lists or estimates of Sangha’s wealth and private life.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Was Jasveen Sangha found guilty by a jury?
No. Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal counts and was convicted pursuant to that guilty plea. She was not convicted after a jury trial.
How long was Jasveen Sangha sentenced to prison?
On April 8, 2026, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced her to 180 months, or 15 years, in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Why is Jasveen Sangha called the “Ketamine Queen”?
“Ketamine Queen” was a nickname used by federal prosecutors and repeated in charging documents and news reports. It is not an official legal designation or job title.
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According to her plea agreement, Sangha supplied ketamine that reached Perry through intermediary Erik Fleming and Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa. She admitted that at least three injections administered to Perry on October 28, 2023 involved ketamine supplied through her. Her conviction included distribution of ketamine resulting in death while aiding and abetting.
What is publicly known about Sangha’s nationality?
The Justice Department identified Sangha as a dual citizen of the United States and the United Kingdom and a North Hollywood resident. Other biographical details, including reports about Punjabi origin, England and her education, should be attributed to defense materials or secondary reporting.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Jasveen Sangha was the defendant prosecutors portrayed as a major ketamine supplier in the federal investigation into Matthew Perry’s death. She pleaded guilty rather than going to trial, was convicted on five federal counts, and received a 15-year prison sentence plus three years of supervised release on April 8, 2026. The nickname “Ketamine Queen” is a prosecutorial label—not an official title—and claims about her private biography should be kept separate from the better-documented court record.
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