The 41-year-old is facing nine charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine. She pleaded not guilty and was ordered to be held without bond.
Jasveen Sangha, called the “Ketamine Queen” by prosecutors, was one of the five people charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s accidental overdose in 2023.
Perry was found unresponsive in a pool at his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023. The actor died of acute affects of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California announced charges in Perry’s accidental death on Aug. 15, alleging in an indictment that Sangha supplied the ketamine that would later lead to his death.
Three other defendants, including Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, agreed to plea deals with prosecutors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Sangha, 41, is facing nine charges, including conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
On Aug. 15, Sangha wore large round glasses and a bright green baggy Nirvana T-shirt to her initial court appearance, NBC News reported.
The alleged drug dealer pleaded not guilty, and a judge ordered her to be held without bond after deeming her a flight risk.
Here’s what to know about Sangha, and her alleged involvement in the death of the beloved “Friends” star.
What is Sangha charged with in Perry’s overdose case?
Sangha used her home in North Hollywood, California, which prosecutors called the “Sangha Stash House,” to “store, package and distribute narcotics, including ketamine and methamphetamine,” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that in mid-October, Iwamasa sought out another source of ketamine for his boss. He reached out to an acquaintance, Eric Fleming, who then contacted Sangha, the “ketamine queen,” according to the indictment.
On Oct. 11, 2023, Sangha texted Fleming on the Signal encrypted messaging application about her supply of ketamine and offered a sample for Perry to try, according to the indictment.
“It’s unmarked but it’s amazing — he take one and try it and I have more if he likes,” she wrote.
Fleming then allegedly sent a screenshot of Sangha’s message and sent it to Iwamasa.
“(J)ust got this from my person. She only deal(s) with high end and celebs,” he wrote. “If it were not great stuff she’d lose her business.”
Iwamasa purchased 25 vials of ketamine from Fleming and Sangha on Oct. 14, 2023, prosecutors alleged. Just over a week later, on Oct. 23, 2023, Iwamasa paid $6,000 for additional ketamine.
Sangha said her ketamine source, whom she described as a “master chef” and “scientist,” would make the supply of additional ketamine available on Oct. 24, 2023, according to the indictment.
Later that day, Fleming then delivered an additional 25 vials of ketamine to Iwamasa, according to the indictment.
Over the next few days, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least six shots of ketamine per day, until his death on Oct. 28, 2023, when Iwamasa injected him with at least three shots of ketamine, “which resulted in the death and serious bodily injury of (Perry),” prosecutors wrote in the indictment.
According to the indictment, after reading news reports about Perry’s death, Sangha texted Fleming: “Delete all of our messages.”
Fleming pleaded guilty on Aug. 8 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
What is ‘Sangha’s Stash House’?
Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, described Sangha’s home as a “drug-selling emporium” in a press conference on Aug. 14.
After Perry’s death, authorities executed search warrants at Sangha’s North Hollywood home. Investigators located 79 vials of ketamine and approximately 3 pounds of pills containing methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine and prescription drugs that appeared to be fraudulently obtained, according to the indictment.
What is Jasveen Sangha’s previous criminal history?
Sangha was previously arrested in March in a separate federal drug case in which she was accused of being “a large volume drug dealer,” according to court records obtained by NBC News.
She was released from custody in that case after she posted a $100,000 bond, according to NBC News.
Five years ago, Sangha learned that the “unsupervised and improper use of ketamine can be deadly,” according to the indictment.
In August 2019, a man purchased ketamine from Sangha, and overdosed and died within a day of the drug deal.
A family member of the man contacted Sangha and informed her of his death.
“The ketamine you sold my brother killed him,” they wrote. “It’s listed as the cause of death.”
Within days of receiving the text, according to the indictment, Sangha Google searched, “can ketamine be listed as a cause of death.”
A drug distribution charge was filed in the 2019 case due to the investigation into Perry’s death, Estrada said during the Aug. 15 press conference. Estrada did not specify who was charged.
What do we know about Jasveen Sangha’s personal life?
Sangha has not publicly shared intimate details of her personal life, but as seen on her social media, she often showcases a glamorous lifestyle, which includes vacationing to cities like Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
In her most recent Instagram post, she shared a meme which showed a sitcom clip of British actor Patsy Stone telling a customer that they couldn’t “afford” a bag because they asked about the price.
In a caption on the video, Sangha wrote, “*POV Shopping at Hermes.” She then added, “I want to be her for Halloween so bad!”
She captioned the video, “Cancel my aromatherapy, my psychotherapy, my reflexology, my osteopath, my homoeopath, my naturopath, my crystal reading, my shiatsu, my organic hairdresser. And see if I can be re-birthed next Thursday afternoon.” — Absolutely Fabulous xx.”
As far as her employment, Sangha was listed as the “chief financial officer” of the now-closed Studio City salon called the Stiletto Nail Bar, according to records obtained by NBC News.
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Source: The Wall Street Journal