(LOS ANGELES) — A doctor pleaded guilty Wednesday to distributing ketamine to Matthew Perry before he died, becoming the fourth person convicted in connection with the “Friends” actor’s 2023 overdose death.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine during a hearing in Los Angeles Wednesday morning, the Department of Justice said.
“Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry,” his attorney, Karen Goldstein, said in a statement. “He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution.”
Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, “acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction,” Goldstein said. He has indicated through his attorneys that he will surrender his medical license in the next 30 to 45 days, prosecutors said.
“While Dr. Plasencia was not treating Mr. Perry at the time of his death, he hopes his case serves as a warning to other medical professionals and leads to stricter oversight and clear protocols for the rapidly growing at-home ketamine industry in order to prevent future tragedies like this one,” Goldstein said.
Plasencia was one of five people charged in the wake of Perry’s death from a ketamine overdose on Oct. 28, 2023, at the age of 54. The actor was discovered unresponsive in a jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home, police said. An autopsy report revealed he died from the acute effects of ketamine.
The operator of an urgent care clinic in Malibu, Plasencia had been set to go on trial in August in the case prior to reaching a plea agreement. He will remain out on bond until his sentencing hearing on Dec. 3, with prosecutors saying he faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for each count.
His conviction comes after Mark Chavez, a second doctor charged in the case, pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine in October 2024. He is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
According to Plasencia’s plea agreement, he distributed 20 vials of ketamine, ketamine lozenges and syringes to Perry and the actor’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, between Sept. 30, 2023, and Oct. 12, 2023.
Plasencia “admits that his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care and that transfers of ketamine vials to Defendant Iwamasa and Victim M.P. were not for a legitimate medical purpose,” his plea agreement stated.
Iwamasa, who admitted in court documents to administering the ketamine on the day that Perry died, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, the DOJ said. He is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
According to his plea agreement, Perry asked Iwamasa to help him procure ketamine in September 2023 and provided his assistant with “money, or promised to reimburse him, and directed him to find sources from whom to acquire the drugs.”
One of Plasencia’s patients introduced him to Perry on Sept. 30, 2023, with the unidentified patient referring to the actor as a “‘high profile person’ who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay ‘cash and lots of thousands’ for ketamine treatment,'” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.
Plasencia contacted Chavez, who had previously operated a ketamine clinic, to discuss Perry’s request for ketamine and purchased vials of liquid ketamine, ketamine lozenges and other items from him, according to the agreement.
In discussing how much to charge Perry, Plasencia said in text messages to Chavez, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets [sic] find out,” the Department of Justice said.
Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at the actor’s home on several occasions, and left vials and lozenges with Iwamasa to administer, according to the plea agreement. In one instance, he was paid $12,000 for such a visit, according to the agreement.
One such instance occurred outside of the home, when Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry in a parking lot near an aquarium in Long Beach, according to the plea agreement. Upon learning about that, Chavez “reprimanded” the other doctor “for ‘dosing people’ in cars, and in a public place where children are present,” Chavez’s plea agreement stated.
Plasencia returned to Perry’s home on Oct. 12, 2023, to administer ketamine, during which the actor’s blood pressure spiked, causing him to “freeze up,” according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.
“Notwithstanding Victim M.P.’s reaction, defendant left additional vials of ketamine with Defendant Iwamasa, knowing that Defendant Iwamasa would inject the ketamine into Victim M.P.,” the agreement stated.
After receiving 10 more vials of ketamine through a licensed pharmaceutical company using his DEA license, Plasencia texted Iwamasa on Oct. 27, 2023, according to the plea agreement: “I know you mentioned taking a break. I have been stocking up on the meanwhile. I am not sure when you guys plan to resume but in case its when im out of town this weekend I have left supplies with a nurse of mine …I can always let her know the plan.”
Perry died the following day after overdosing on ketamine, which Plasencia had not provided, according to the plea agreement.
Another defendant in the case, Eric Fleming, admitted in court documents that he distributed the ketamine that killed Perry, prosecutors said. He pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death. He admitted in court documents that he distributed 50 vials of ketamine that he obtained from another defendant in the case — Jasveen Sangha — to Iwamasa, including the ketamine that killed Perry, the DOJ said. Fleming is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” is accused of selling 50 vials of ketamine over two weeks to Perry, working with Fleming and Iwamasa to distribute the drugs to Perry, prosecutors said. She is accused of selling Perry the batch of ketamine that killed him.
Sangha pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial in August.
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