The “Ketamine Queen” who sold Matthew Perry the drugs that killed him wept in court as she was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
Jasveen Sangha, who was born in Britain, admitted working with another dealer to supply the Friends star with vials of ketamine before his overdose death aged 54 in October 2023.
Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty to one charge of maintaining drug-involved premises, three charges of distribution of ketamine and one charge of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.
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In federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Sangha, wearing a white prison jumpsuit, told the judge: “I am so very sorry I had a hand in this tragic outcome.”
Sherilyn Peace Garnett, a US district judge, said of the sentence, which extends to three years of supervised release after the prison term: “This is not a reflection of you as a bad person. The sentence is a reflection of you engaging in illegal conduct.”
Sangha sobbed while Perry’s stepfather, the TV journalist Keith Morrison, described the star as “one of a kind … He was a funny person, he was a brilliant person.”
Suzanne and Keith Morrison, Perry’s mother and stepfatherAP/Damian Dovarganes
Perry with his sister Emily and mother Suzanne in 2001Vincent Bucci/Getty Images
Perry, beloved by millions of fans around the world for playing Chandler Bing on the wildly popular sitcom Friends, struggled with addiction for much of his life.
Morrison, 78, said the family was devastated by his death. “It’s a daily, grinding sadness and sorrow that we all feel,” he added. “The loss is not just to us, it’s for everybody. He was a brilliant and talented man.”
Morrison said that he, his wife and Perry’s biological father and stepmother were all growing old and that the star was meant to become “the head of the household … There was a spark to that man that I have never seen anywhere else except in him.”
Morrison directly addressed Sangha, who wept into her hands. “I feel bad for you,” he said. “I do not hate you. I am not angry at you. God, how your family must be feeling.”
Morrison said Perry had known many drug dealers and that at times he had believed they were his best friends and worst enemies.
Perry, left, with his Friends co-stars before the show ended in 2004NBC Universal/Getty Images
He had much more to give at the time of his death, Morrison said. “He should have had another act. Two more acts,” he said.
Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, said in a victim-impact statement on Wednesday: “The pain you’ve caused to hundreds, maybe thousands, is irreversible. There is no joy … no light in the window. They won’t be back … please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.”
Prosecutors had sought the 15-year sentence for Sangha, saying she was a major drug dealer running an operation from her north Hollywood home catering to high-end clients.
Sangha also admitted to selling drugs to another man, the 33-year-old Cody McLaury, who had no connection to Perry, before his overdose death in 2019. McLaury’s sister appeared in court and said that Sangha proved she had no remorse by continuing to sell drugs after the death of her brother.
The gallery was packed with Sangha’s friends and family. The court was told that she came from a well-off family who owned several businesses. She gained a business degree in London and could have made money legitimately but instead turned to crime, prosecutors said.
Sangha described her own problems with addictioninstagram/jasveen_s
Sangha said that she too had battled addiction, describing her struggles as a “battlefield in the mind”. “I know what I did was wrong,” she said, adding that not a day went by when she did not regret her crimes.
Her arrest in March 2024 was the “harshest reality check of my life”, Sangha said, adding: “I am not asking for a medal but I have done everything I can do to be a better person.”
The court was told that Sangha has been a model prisoner while in custody for the past 18 months. She helped with Bible studies and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, the defence said.
Mark Geragos, defending Sangha, asked the judge to sentence her to the time she had already served. “There was nobody who was going to stop Mr Perry from doing what he was going to do,” he said.
Perry, one of the best-known television stars of his era, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023. He had relapsed after a period of sobriety.
The medical examiner ruled that his death was the result of the “acute effects of ketamine”. Perry had been using the dissociative anaesthetic to treat depression when he became addicted to it.
Unable to source enough of the drug legitimately, he turned to the black market. Salvador Plasencia, a doctor, admitted illegally selling Perry ketamine and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in December.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant who administered the fatal dose, is due to be sentenced this month having admitted one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.