The actor had been taking ketamine six to eight times a day before he died, according to court documents.
Image: Clockwise from top left: Friends stars Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox. Pic: NBC Universal Inc/ Sky UK
This includes his live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, a doctor named Salvador Plasencia, known as “Dr. P”, Jasveen Sangha who was referred to in documents as the “Ketamine Queen”, Eric Fleming, who it was claimed bought the drug off of Sangha, and then a second doctor Mark Chavez.
Chavez is due to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine when he appears in a federal court in Los Angeles, on Friday.
The 54-year-old from San Diego signed an agreement with prosecutors earlier this month.
More on Drugs
Related Topics:
Also working with the US attorney’s office are Perry’s assistant, Iwamasa, and Fleming – who both pleaded guilty to various charges.
The three are helping prosecutors as they go after their main targets, Plasencia and Sangha.
Advertisement
After a guilty plea, Chavez could get up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Meanwhile, Plasencia pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Sangha, a dual US and UK citizen, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine, maintaining a drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute ketamine, and five counts of distribution of ketamine.
He and Sangha are scheduled to return to court next week.
They have separate trial dates set for October, but prosecutors are seeking a single trial that likely would be delayed to next year.
Image: Salvador Plasencia. Pic: Malibu Canyon Urgent Care
Image: Kenneth Iwamasa Pic: LinkedIn
Image: Jasveen Sangha. Pic: BFA.com/Shutterstock
‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’
When Perry died, the levels of ketamine in his body were equivalent to the amount used for general anaesthesia during surgery, according to Sky News’ US partner NBC News.
In texts written by Plasencia, he wrote: “I wonder how much this moron will pay,”, referring to Perry, prosecutors have alleged.
Court documents revealed extensive correspondence between some of the defendants as they discussed sourcing the drug for Perry.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
In a separate message, Fleming allegedly sent a picture to Iwamasa of three unmarked jars said to contain ketamine with the message: “I guarantee it’s going to be amazing.”
They would use codewords as well and refer to ketamine as “Dr Pepper”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
0:58
Outside Jasveen Sangha’s ‘drug-selling emporium’
‘Out of control’
Ketamine has seen a huge surge in use in recent years, as a treatment for depression, anxiety, and pain.
Perry had begun taking ketamine as part of infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, but, according to prosecutors, had developed an “out of control” dependence on it and began sourcing unsupervised doses.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrator Anne Milgram said: “Matthew Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine.
“When clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous doctors who saw Perry as a way to make quick money.”
Prosecutors allege Chavez funnelled ketamine to Plasencia, securing some of the drug from a wholesale distributor through a fraudulent prescription.
In one instance, prosecutors allege that Plasencia “charged Perry $2,000 (£1,500) a vial that cost Dr Chavez approximately $12 (£9)”.
R Kelly was hospitalised after prison officials gave him an overdose of medication, his lawyers have claimed – as part of what they say is an ongoing assassination plot.
Kelly, whose full name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, is currently serving time at the Federal Correctional Institute in Butner, North Carolina, after being convicted of sex trafficking and racketeering in 2021.
A year later, he was found guilty on three charges of producing child sexual abuse images and three charges of enticement of minors for sex.
The 58-year-old was taken to hospital on Friday after prison staff “administered an overdose of his medication”, according to a court document filed by his lawyer.
The document, filed on Tuesday, reads: “Mr. Kelly’s life is in danger, and that danger is coming from Bureau of Prisons officials and their actions.
“Mr. Kelly needs this Court’s intervention. His life actually depends on it.”
Nicole Blank Becker, one of Kelly’s lawyers, said he is in solitary confinement and that she spoke with him on Monday.
“What is happening right now with him is insane,” she said. “I hope that this really results in someone, somewhere, somehow getting ahold of him today and getting him back in the hospital.”
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that “for privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not discuss the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including medical and health-related issues”.
“Additionally, the Bureau of Prisons does not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of legal proceedings,” they added.
The allegation is the latest in a line of similar claims from the singer’s legal team, who last week filed a motion accusing the Bureau of Prisons of instructing another inmate to kill Kelly.
A motion filed by Kelly’s legal team claimed Mikeal Glenn Stine, who is alleged to be a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang and has a terminal cancer diagnosis, was given a chance to “to live out the last of those months as a free man” in exchange for killing the singer.
The next day, his legal team filed additional material saying he had been moved to solitary confinement and denied access to his lawyer.
Prosecutors rejected the claims as “repugnant”.
Their written response said: “Kelly has never taken responsibility for his years of sexually abusing children, and he probably never will.
“Undeterred, Kelly now asks this Court to release him from incarceration indefinitely under the guise of a fanciful conspiracy.”
Gary Glitter will stay in prison after the Parole Board refused the disgraced singer’s bid to be released.
Glitter, 81, was recalled to jail less than six weeks after he was released halfway through his 16-year sentence in 2023 for breaching his licence conditions by allegedly viewing downloaded images of children.
He was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment in 2015 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting three schoolgirls between 1975 and 1980.
The Parole Board last year said it was “not satisfied that release at this point would be safe for the protection of the public” after a hearing held behind closed doors.
Image: Glitter was jailed in 2015 Pic: PA
A spokesman on Tuesday said his release was refused again following a “paper review”.
“Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community,” a statement said.
“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
More on Crime
Related Topics:
“Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”
Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, will be eligible for a further review at a date set by the Ministry of Justice. His sentence expires in February 2031.
He was made bankrupt earlier this year after failing to pay more than £500,000 in damages to a woman who sued him for abusing her when she was 12 years old.
Richard Scorer, head of abuse law and public inquiries at Slater and Gordon, who represented the woman, told Sky News the Parole Board has made “the right decision”.
He added: “My client is relieved at this ruling but apprehensive about having to go through the merry-go-round of Gadd coming up for parole again, and the fear of him being let out on licence.
“This is unfair on victims and it would be better if they were assured that he would serve the rest of his sentence.”
Glitter was first jailed for four months in 1999 after he admitted possessing around 4,000 indecent images of children.
He was expelled from Cambodia in 2002, and in March 2006 was convicted of sexually abusing two girls, aged 10 and 11, in Vietnam, where he spent two-and-a-half years in prison.
Glitter was automatically released from HMP The Verne, a low-security prison in Portland, Dorset, in February 2023 after serving half of his fixed-term determinate sentence.
But he was back behind bars weeks later after reportedly trying to access the dark web and images of children.
Kim Woodburn – a former cleaner who found fame presenting the hit TV show How Clean Is Your House? – has died.
Woodburn, who was 83, later became a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, finishing as runner-up.
Image: Woodburn came third in Celebrity Big Brother 2017. Pic: PA
Her manager said in a statement: “It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved Kim Woodburn passed away yesterday following a short illness.
“Kim was an incredibly kind, caring, charismatic and strong person.
“Her husband, Peter, is heartbroken at the loss of his soulmate.
“We are so proud of the amazing things Kim achieved in her life and career.
“We kindly ask that Kim’s husband and close friends are given the time and privacy they need to grieve.
“We will not be releasing any further details.”
Image: Woodburn with Aggie MacKenzie (L). Pic: PA
On Tuesday, her husband shared a video montage of photos of Woodburn over the years, starting when she was just four years old, with the message: “My wonderful, beautiful, Kim passed away last night. God bless, my love, xx xx”
Known for her trademark tight, plaited bun, Kim was largely blind in her right eye, and had poor sight in her left eye, and earlier this year had told her followers she was undergoing emergency eye surgery.
Woodburn, who had been selling video greetings to fans, shared her last Instagram post in February, when she posted a message saying “Kim is unable to record any further videos for the foreseeable future due to a health problem”.
She wrote: “No more videos for now, my loves, I need to get better!”
Instagram
This content is provided by Instagram, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable Instagram cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to Instagram cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow Instagram cookies for this session only.
Woodburn, born Patricia Mary in Hampshire, left a turbulent home life aged 16, moving to Liverpool to become a live-in cleaner.
She revealed in her 2006 autobiography that, at the age of 23, she prematurely gave birth to a stillborn son and buried him in a park.
The revelation in her book led to a police inquiry, but no action was taken by officers.
In the same year as the stillbirth, she changed her name to Kim – after American actress Kim Novak.
Years later, she was scouted by a TV company looking for a cleaner with an engaging personality to front How Clean is Your House?
Paired with Scottish cleaner Aggie MacKenzie, the two professional cleaners fronted the show – a ratings hit and a pioneer for the home cleaning genre – from 2003 to 2009.
Woodburn went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of here! and E4’s Celebrity Cooking School, as well as regularly contributing to ITV’s This Morning and Loose Women.
She also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Big Brother’s Bit On The Side, Celebrity Come Dine With Me and A Place In The Sun.