A woman dubbed the “Ketamine Queen” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after a federal judge ruled on her role in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry. Jasveen Sangha, 42, pleaded guilty last September to five charges, including one count of distributing ketamine resulting in death or bodily injury. Prosecutors described the American-British dual national’s home as a “drug-selling emporium” used to fund a lavish lifestyle. Matthew Perry, who had long battled addiction, was found dead in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home in October 2023.

Investigators ruled his death was caused by the acute effects of ketamine — a powerful dissociative anaesthetic that should only be administered by medical professionals. Ahead of sentencing, Perry’s stepmother Debbie Perry urged the court to impose the maximum punishment, saying Sangha had caused “irreversible” damage. In a victim impact statement, she said: “You caused this.

"You who has talent for business enough to make money chose the one way that hurts people. Please give this heartless woman the maximum prison sentence so she won’t be able to hurt other families like ours.”

Federal agents uncovered dozens of ketamine vials during a raid on Sangha’s Los Angeles home, alongside thousands of pills including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax.

Authorities said she had been supplying the drug from a North Hollywood “stash house” since at least 2019. As part of her plea deal, she also admitted selling ketamine to another man, Cody McLaury, who died hours later from an overdose.

Sangha had initially denied the charges before changing her plea weeks before trial. Several letters in support of Sangha were also filed in court by her family and friends.

She faced up to 65 years in prison, but her lawyers argued for leniency, saying she had accepted responsibility and had no prior record.

Sangha has been detained since August of 2024, according to her attorneys.

She is one of five people charged in connection with Perry’s death, including doctors and the actor’s assistant, whom prosecutors say exploited his addiction for profit. The others have also pleaded guilty.

Dr Salvador Plasencia, who supplied Perry with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Dr Mark Chavez received eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release after admitting to illegally obtaining and selling the drug.

Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who helped purchase and administer the ketamine, is due to be sentenced later this month, while another figure in the case, Eric Fleming, is expected to be sentenced in June.

Perry, best known for playing wise-cracking Chandler Bing in the long-running 1990s US TV sitcom Friends, struggled for decades with substance addiction and had been taking ketamine as part of supervised therapy for depression.