Jasveen Sangha, widely known as the Ketamine Queen, is in prison after receiving a 15-year federal sentence on 8 April 2026 for her role in distributing the ketamine that killed Friends actor Matthew Perry in October 2023. Sangha, who was born in London and holds dual British and American citizenship, pleaded guilty to five federal charges including distribution resulting in death.

Who Is Jasveen Sangha?

Jasveen Sangha is a 42-year-old woman who was born in London to a family of Punjabi heritage, before moving to the United States as a young child. Her family eventually settled in Southern California, where she would later build a significant criminal enterprise. Despite her upbringing in the US, Sangha holds dual British and American citizenship, which has made her case of particular interest to British audiences following the sentencing.

Before her arrest, Sangha was known within certain circles in Los Angeles as the “Ketamine Queen” — a nickname that reflected the scale and audacity of her drug distribution operation. Federal prosecutors alleged that she ran a sophisticated network from her apartment in North Hollywood, California, stockpiling and selling the anaesthetic drug ketamine to a wide range of clients over a five-year period starting no later than 2019.

What Was She Charged With?

Sangha was indicted in August 2024 alongside four co-defendants as part of a federal investigation into the circumstances of Matthew Perry’s death. She faced five federal charges in total: one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of distribution resulting in death, and three counts of ketamine distribution. The maximum combined sentence for these charges was 65 years in prison.

On 3 September 2025, Sangha entered a guilty plea to all five charges. As part of her plea agreement, she was the only defendant to formally acknowledge that her actions had directly caused Matthew Perry’s death — a legally significant admission that led to her receiving the heaviest sentence of all five defendants.

Connection to Matthew Perry’s Death

Matthew Perry, best known for playing Chandler Bing in the long-running US sitcom Friends, was found unresponsive in his swimming pool at his Pacific Palisades home in Los Angeles on 28 October 2023. He was 54 years old. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled that he died from an accidental overdose of ketamine.

Prosecutors established that in the weeks leading up to Perry’s death, Sangha and a co-defendant named Erik Fleming sold Perry a total of 51 vials of ketamine. These vials were supplied to Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, who then administered the drug to the actor on multiple occasions — including at least three injections on the day Perry died.

The case is made more serious by evidence that Sangha was aware of the lethal risks her product posed. In 2019, a customer named Cody McLaury died after purchasing ketamine from Sangha. Prosecutors presented evidence that McLaury’s sister contacted Sangha directly to inform her of her customer’s death, yet Sangha continued dealing for years afterwards, including during the period in which she supplied drugs to Matthew Perry’s circle.

Verdict and Sentence

On 8 April 2026, Sangha was sentenced in a US federal court to 15 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. The judge cited several aggravating factors in determining the sentence, including the scale of Sangha’s drug trafficking enterprise, the number of years she had spent dealing, the size of her client base, and the fact that she continued to operate even after learning that one of her customers had died as a result of her product.

Sangha received the longest sentence of the five defendants charged in connection with Perry’s death. The judge concluded that she bore the greatest culpability due to her central role in the supply chain and the formal admission within her plea agreement that her actions were causally linked to Perry’s fatal overdose.

Where Is Jasveen Sangha Now?

Sangha has been held in custody since August 2024, when her bail was revoked following her initial indictment. Following her sentencing in April 2026, she is serving a 15-year federal prison term in the United States. Given that she holds British citizenship, it is theoretically possible she could at some stage apply for a prisoner transfer to the UK under the relevant international prisoner transfer arrangements, though no such application has been reported. Families of those held in US federal facilities can find useful information on how prison visits work through our guides, and those with loved ones held abroad may wish to seek consular advice.

The case has continued to attract significant public interest in both the United States and the United Kingdom, given Perry’s enormous cultural impact through Friends and Sangha’s British roots. It stands as one of the most high-profile drug distribution cases of recent years, shining a light on the dangers of unregulated ketamine use and the accountability of those who supply controlled substances that cause death.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Jasveen Sangha in prison?

Jasveen Sangha is in prison because she was convicted of distributing the ketamine that caused the death of actor Matthew Perry in October 2023. She pleaded guilty to five federal charges, including distribution resulting in death, and was sentenced to 15 years in a US federal prison on 8 April 2026.

Is Jasveen Sangha British?

Yes, Jasveen Sangha was born in London and holds dual British and American citizenship. She moved to the United States as a child and later settled in Southern California, where she carried out her drug trafficking operation from a property in North Hollywood.

How long is Jasveen Sangha’s prison sentence?

Jasveen Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. She has been held in custody since August 2024 and is serving her sentence in a United States federal prison facility.

What does Ketamine Queen mean?

The nickname Ketamine Queen was used by associates and clients to describe Jasveen Sangha because of the scale of her illegal ketamine distribution operation. She ran her drug supply network from her apartment in North Hollywood, California, and sold the anaesthetic drug to a large number of clients over a period of several years starting no later than 2019.

Did Jasveen Sangha cause Matthew Perry’s death?

Federal prosecutors established that Sangha supplied the ketamine that was administered to Matthew Perry in the weeks leading up to his death on 28 October 2023. As part of her plea agreement, Sangha is the only defendant who formally acknowledged that her actions caused Perry’s death. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled that Perry died from an accidental ketamine overdose.