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Dr. Salvador Plasencia, one of Matthew Perry’s ketamine providers, pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of distribution of the dissociative drug.
Plasencia, 43, admitted to four counts of distribution of ketamine, a plea deal he agreed to last month. Standing before Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in a Los Angeles federal court, Plasencia said his legal team had “considered everything” when it came to the plea and subsequent sentencing.
Prosecutors agreed to drop three additional counts against Plasencia in exchange for his guilty plea. He had been scheduled to go on trial next month alongside Jasveen Sangha, aka “The Ketamine Queen.”
The “Friends” star died on Oct. 28, 2023, after an apparent drowning in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home, authorities confirmed to Fox News Digital at the time. He was 54.
“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 provided to Fox News Digital.
“He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution. Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction.”
She added, “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.”
“Because the burden of proof is much higher in criminal cases versus civil cases – beyond a reasonable doubt vs. preponderance of evidence – having a criminal conviction in the bag makes it much easier to win a civil case,” Dowlatshahi told Fox News Digital.
“Typically, with a plea, the defendant will get much less prison time than the maximum, hence the agreement to plead guilty. Here, the maximum sentence is 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of at least $2 million. I would expect significantly less in all aspects. The punishment should be a warning to all physicians handling and distributing substances to do so with extreme care and humanity toward everyone, including those who are extremely wealthy and famous.”
Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, noted that Plasencia abused his position for financial gain, and caused a “gross violation of trust.”
“The punishment does fit the crime because Plasencia did not provide the fatal dose of ketamine that killed Perry,” Rahmani said. “Perry’s family could file a civil lawsuit, but they don’t need the money, and even though Plasencia provided the supplies and training, that may not be enough to establish medical causation for a wrongful death case. Co-defendants Sangha, Fleming, and Iwamasa are more directly liable for Perry’s death.”
Nearly nine months after Perry died, authorities announced that five people were arrested and charged with multiple counts in connection to his death.
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada said at one point that the defendants distributed approximately “20 vials for approximately $50,000 in cash” to Perry for Kenneth (Kenny) Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in assistant, to distribute the drug to the actor. During another sale, the dealers “took advantage of Mr. Perry” by selling approximately “50 vials of ketamine for approximately $11,000 in cash.”
In addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, Sangha is also charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine and five counts of distribution of ketamine. She is also scheduled to go to trial in August. She has pleaded not guilty – making her the only one of the five people charged in Perry’s death who has not entered a plea agreement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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