On April 8, 2026, a federal judge in Los Angeles sentenced Jasveen Sangha to 15 years in prison, effectively ending the reign of the woman known to the underground as the Ketamine Queen. Sangha, a 42-year-old dual citizen of the U.K. and U.S., had transformed her North Hollywood home into a high-end "stash house," catering to an elite clientele that included the late Matthew Perry. While the sentencing provides a legal closing to the tragedy that claimed the Friends star in October 2023, the investigation unearths a far more disturbing narrative about how the wealthy and vulnerable are hunted by those they trust.
This was not a case of a single bad decision. It was a calculated business model built on the wreckage of human addiction.
The Architecture of a Stash House
Federal prosecutors revealed that Sangha’s operation was no amateur street-corner hustle. Since at least 2019, she had managed a sophisticated distribution hub. When the DEA finally breached her residence in March 2024, they discovered a pharmacy of illicit substances: 79 vials of liquid ketamine, nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine, cocaine, and various specialized "bonus" items like ketamine-infused lollipops.
Sangha did not just sell drugs; she curated an experience for the "Hollywood elite." She used her education—including a master's degree—and a carefully crafted social media persona to project an image of jet-setting glamour funded entirely by the distribution of powerful anesthetics. This wasn't desperation. It was greed.
The Exploitation of Matthew Perry
The timeline leading to Perry’s death illustrates a predatory "ecosystem" involving doctors, assistants, and dealers. Perry, who had been vocal about his decades-long battle with sobriety, was seeking ketamine for depression through legitimate medical channels. When his doctors refused to increase his dosage, the "system" around him didn't offer help—it offered a menu.
The actor’s journey into Sangha’s orbit was facilitated by a network of enablers:
- Dr. Salvador Plasencia: A physician who saw Perry not as a patient, but as a "payday," famously wondering in a text message how much the "moron" would pay. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
- Kenneth Iwamasa: Perry’s live-in assistant, who lacked any medical training yet injected the actor with at least three shots of ketamine on the day he died.
- Erik Fleming: The middleman who coordinated the $6,000 cash transaction for 25 vials of Sangha’s ketamine just four days before the fatal overdose.
Sangha provided the "ammunition," as her own lawyer Mark Geragos described it in court, while others "pulled the trigger." However, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett dismissed the idea that Sangha was less culpable than those who administered the drug. The judge pointed to Sangha’s history, specifically the 2019 death of another customer, Cody McLaury.
A Pattern of Indifference
The most damning evidence against Sangha wasn't just the volume of drugs she sold, but her reaction when they killed people. In 2019, after being informed by McLaury’s sister that her brother had died from the ketamine Sangha sold him, Sangha did not stop. She did not pivot. She continued her business.
When news of Matthew Perry’s death broke in 2023, her first instinct was not remorse, but self-preservation. She messaged Fleming on an encrypted app, instructing him to "Delete all our messages." This "callous disregard for life," as the prosecution framed it, became the cornerstone of her 15-year sentence.
The High Price of Hollywood Secrecy
The Perry case exposes the "concierge" drug culture where the wealthy can bypass the safeguards of the traditional medical system. For a certain price, there is always a doctor willing to write a script or a "Queen" willing to deliver a vial.
The defense argued for "time served," citing Sangha’s two years of sobriety behind bars and her leadership in jailhouse Narcotics Anonymous meetings. They painted a picture of a woman who had "worn her shame like a jacket." But the court saw a different garment: a calculated mask of rehabilitation used to mitigate a 65-year maximum potential sentence.
Moving Beyond the Headline
The 15-year sentence for Jasveen Sangha is significant, yet it leaves the underlying infrastructure of celebrity addiction untouched. The demand for "off-book" treatments remains high, and the profit margins for those willing to provide them are even higher.
Perry’s family, including his mother Suzanne and stepfather Keith Morrison, spoke of a "daily, grinding sadness." Their loss is a permanent reminder that in the shadow of Hollywood’s bright lights, there are those who view addiction as a market to be captured rather than a crisis to be solved.
Justice in this case is not just about one dealer going to prison. It is a warning to the network of "white-coat" dealers and high-society suppliers that the cost of doing business in the illicit market has finally gone up.
The final two defendants, Iwamasa and Fleming, are scheduled for sentencing later this month. Their fates will determine if the legal system truly intends to dismantle the entire chain of enablers or if this was simply a high-profile purge of a few notable names.
