The late actor, who died in October from 'acute effects of ketamine,' was best known for his beloved character, Chandler Bing, on the hit sitcom 'Friends'
Matthew Perry allegedly bought Ketamine from purported drug ring
Fox News correspondent Matt Finn has the latest on the five defendants charged with a series of felonies in Matthew Perry's death on 'Special Report.'
Jasveen Sangha — also known as the "Ketamine Queen," who was arrested on Aug. 15 for her involvement in Matthew Perry's death — may have used a code name during conversations involving the purchase and delivery of ketamine to the late star.
In court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, prosecutors claim that Sangha referred to Perry "using a name of a well-known character that [Perry] portrayed in a television series."
The actor was best known for his beloved character, Chandler Bing, on the hit sitcom "Friends." He died on Oct. 28, 2023, from "acute effects of ketamine."
MATTHEW PERRY DEATH PROBE REVEALS ACTOR WAS MANIPULATED BY 'LEECHES' IN HIS INNER CIRCLE
Jasveen Sangha, also known as the "Ketamine Queen," was arrested for her involvement in Matthew Perry's death. (Jojo Korsh/BFA.com/Shutterstock | Getty Images)
On Aug. 15, five people, including Sangha, Erik Fleming, Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and two doctors, were arrested and charged with multiple counts.
During a press conference that same day, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said at one point that the defendants distributed approximately "20 vials for approximately $50,000 in cash" to Perry for Iwamasa to distribute the drug to the actor. During another sale, the dealers "took advantage of Mr. Perry" by selling approximately "50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash."
According to Fleming's plea agreement obtained by Fox News Digital, Sangha, Iwamasa and Fleming worked to get rid of evidence showing the actor was injected multiple times with ketamine.
Perry was candid about his issues with addiction. (NBC)
During a call on Oct. 28, Sangha and Fleming discussed distancing themselves from the drug deal by "deleting digital evidence" from their cellphones.
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Sangha instructed Fleming to delete all text messages shared between the two and updated Signal — an encrypted messaging app — settings to automatically delete messages, the court docs read.
Fleming and Perry's personal assistant spoke on the phone on Oct. 30, two days after Perry's death. Iwamasa revealed he had "cleaned up the scene" by getting rid of the syringes and ketamine vials, according to the plea agreement. Iwamasa also claimed he had "deleted everything." Fleming seemingly placed blame on Iwamasa in text messages to the "Ketamine Queen."
Perry died in October 2023 from "acute effects of ketamine." (Gregg DeGuire)
"Please call... Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you," Fleming wrote in a text message included in the plea agreement. "I'm 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Victim M.P.]. Only his Assistant. So the Assistant was the enabler. Also are they doing a 3 month tox screening ... Does K stay in your system or is it immediately flushed out?"
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On the morning of Oct. 28, Iwamasa administered a shot of ketamine to the actor around 8:30 a.m., according to the documents. By 12:45 p.m., Perry had instructed Iwamasa to give him another injection while the "Friends" star watched a movie.
Roughly 40 minutes later, Perry requested another injection, allegedly telling Iwamasa, "Shoot me up with a big one," according to the plea agreement. Iwamasa then left the home to run errands for Perry, only to return to find him "face down" in the jacuzzi, deceased.
Perry's death was caused by "acute effects of ketamine," according to his autopsy completed on Oct. 29. Drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects were listed as contributing factors.
In a recent interview with The Times, "Friends" co-creator David Crane revealed that Perry had been doing drugs at certain points during the show's run, something the late actor had been very open about.
"By the time we became aware of it, we were already a family on a lot of levels," he explained.
Perry portrayed Chandler Bing on "Friends," which first aired in 1994. (Jon Ragel)
"There was a point where we said to him: ‘Do you want to stop [being in the show]?’ And he was adamantly like: ‘No, this is really important to me.’"
Perry famously admitted in 2022 that staying on the show likely saved his life.
"The fact that I would trade it all to not have this disease is true," he told People magazine of the fame. "But I don't belittle how fun the experience has been on ‘Friends.' And the money was amazing. Just the creative experience of being on ‘Friends’ probably saved my life."
Fox News Digital's Tracy Wright, Lauryn Overhultz and Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.
Christina Dugan Ramirez is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
