Officials have revealed that a criminal network 'took advantage' of Matthew Perry's 'addiction issues' before his death.
A post-mortem examination concluded that Perry died from the 'acute effects of ketamine', while also listing contributing factors that included 'drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine'.
United States Attorney, Martin Estrada, told a press briefing this afternoon (15 August) that five people have been charged in connection with Perry’s death from an accidental ketamine overdose last October.
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The indictment issued by the Department of Justice lists Jasveen Sangha, who it says is known as the 'Ketamine Queen', as well as Dr Salvador Plasencia, as among those charged in the death of the late actor.
His assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, and Erik Flemming, have also been mentioned as co-conspirators.
Authorities announced that the investigation had uncovered a 'broad criminal network' of ketamine suppliers who 'took advantage' of Perry's addiction issues.
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Speaking at a press briefing today (15 August), Estrada said: "These defendants took advantage of Mr Perry's addiction issues to enrich themselves.
"They knew what they were doing was wrong, they knew what they were doing, was risking great danger to mister Perry, but they did it anyways.
"In the end these defendants were more interested in profiting off mister Perry than caring for his well being."
He continued: "As many of you know, mister Perry struggled with addiction in the past. Now many occasions he saw it help for his addiction issues."
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He added: "The investigation revealed it in the fall of 2023, Mr Perry fell back into addiction, and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves."
Elsewhere, Estrada added: "These defendants cared more about profiting off of Mr. Perry than caring for his well-being.
"Drug dealers selling dangerous substances are gambling with other people’s lives over greed. This case, along with our many other prosecutions of drug-dealers who cause death, send a clear message that we will hold drug-dealers accountable for the deaths they cause."
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"Bringing these individuals to justice for their role in the untimely death of Mr. Perry required coordination and hard work by a number of people, and I want to thank LAPD detectives and our federal partners for their patience and dedication," said LAPD Chief Dominic Choi. "As the boots on the ground in our communities, on a daily basis LAPD officers witness first-hand the harm that these narcotics can cause, so I’m pleased that our collective efforts have led to the arrest of these individuals."
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram added: "Today we announce charges brought against the five individuals who, together, are responsible for the death of Matthew Perry.
"We allege each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling, or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death.
"Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials. Every day, the DEA works tirelessly with our federal, state, and local partners to protect the public and to hold accountable those that distribute deadly and dangerous drugs – whether they are local drug traffickers or doctors who violate their sworn oath to care for patients."
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Topics: Matthew Perry, Crime, Celebrity, US News
Rhiannon Ingle