Investigation and guilty pleas
In May 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department opened an investigation to determine how Perry obtained the high dose of ketamine that caused his death. On August 15, 2024, indictments and criminal charges were filed against five individuals: Perry's personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa; two physicians, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia; and two alleged drug dealers (television director Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen"). Prosecutors alleged that the defendants were involved in the distribution of ketamine that resulted in Perry's death, as well as the death of at least one other individual.
Three of the accused – Fleming, Iwamasa, and Chavez, agreed to plead guilty. Chavez's medical license was initially reported as suspended, but was later confirmed to have been voluntarily surrendered the following month. Following her arrest in August 2024, Sangha had her bail revoked; since then, she has been held at a federal prison.
According to U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada, Perry paid the two doctors approximately $55,000 in cash for ketamine during the two months preceding his death. Iwamasa admitted to obtaining ketamine for Perry and administering injections, while Fleming admitted to obtaining ketamine from suppliers and delivering it to Iwamasa for Perry's use. Text messages entered into evidence showed that Plasencia purchased ketamine supplied to Perry from Chavez, including one message in which Plasencia asking Chavez, "I wonder how much this moron will pay."
However, prosecutors stated that the primary supplier of the ketamine Perry used at the time of his death was Jasveen Sangha, described as a major drug dealer serving "high-end and celebrities." Sangha's North Hollywood residence, which was raided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in March 2024, was characterised as a "drug-selling emporium." In his guilty plea, Fleming admitted that he obtained 71 vials of ketamine from Sangha, which were intended for sale to Perry. Plasencia and Sangha were identified by prosecutors as the primary targets of the investigation, with Sangha becoming Perry's main supplier after Plasencia reduced his distribution of ketamine.
On August 18, 2025, Sangha, the final defendant in the case, had her guilty plea, which was signed on August 14, 2025, officially filed in court. Sangha pled guilty to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious injury. She agreed to the plea shortly before her trial was scheduled to begin in September 2025. At the time, Sangha also admitted to selling ketamine that contributed to at least one prior fatal overdose. Sangha formally entered guilty pleas to all five counts while appearing before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on September 3, 2025.
Plasencia, who remained free on bond until sentencing, faced up to 10 years' imprisonment on each of the four charges to which he pled guilty, for a combined statutory maximum of 40 years. In September 2025, Plasencia surrendered his California medical license. On December 3, 2025, Plasencia, the first defendant in the case to be sentenced, received a sentence of 30 months' imprisonment followed by two years of supervised release; he was also ordered to pay a $5,600 fine. Following sentencing, Plasencia surrendered and was taken into federal custody.
It was later acknowledged that Chavez had relinquished his medical license, which had initially been reported as merely "suspended," after entering his guilty plea. On December 16, 2025, Chavez was sentenced to eight months of house arrest, three years of supervised release, and 300 hours of community service. Chavez would begin his sentence on December 17, 2025.
Fleming, who pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, faced a maximum sentence of 25 years' imprisonment. Fleming was scheduled to be sentenced on January 7, 2026.
Iwamasa, who pled guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death, faced a maximum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment. Iwamasa was scheduled to be sentenced on January 14, 2026.
Sangha faced a statutory maximum of 45 years' imprisonment. In December 2025, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California confirmed that Sangha was scheduled to be sentenced on February 25, 2026. On April 8, 2026, Sangha received a 15-year prison sentence to be served in a federal prison. On May 13, 2026, Fleming was sentenced to two years in prison. On May 27, 2026, Iwamasa was sentenced to 41 months in prison, ordered to pay fines of $10,000 and $100, and be on supervised released for two years. Iwamasa began his sentence on July 20, 2026.
