The physician who illegally supplied Friends star Matthew Perry with large quantities of ketamine in the weeks leading up to his tragic death has been sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who operated an urgent care clinic in Malibu, pleaded guilty to charges related to distributing more than 20 vials of ketamine to Perry over a two-week period before the actor’s fatal overdose in 2023. According to prosecutors, the doctor even visited Perry’s home to personally administer injections.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the 30-month sentence on Wednesday, also ordering two years of supervised release and a $5,600 fine.
Plasencia is the first of five defendants to be sentenced in connection with Perry’s death, which was ruled an accidental overdose caused by the acute effects of ketamine. Prosecutors alleged the doctor prioritized profit over Perry’s safety, writing that he “chose to exploit Mr. Perry’s medical vulnerability for financial gain.”
Court documents revealed that Plasencia ignored multiple warning signs—including a previous adverse reaction and the fact that Perry’s assistant was administering the drug without proper medical supervision.
In one text message to a co-defendant, Plasencia crudely joked, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
Had he gone to trial, the disgraced physician could have faced up to 40 years in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a three-year term, calling his conduct an “egregious breach of trust.”
In a victim statement, Perry’s mother Suzanne Morrison and stepfather Keith Morrison described Plasencia as “the most culpable of all,” writing that the doctor “violated his most sacred oaths repeatedly, sneaking under cover of darkness to meet his victim in secret.”
Perry’s stepmother, Debbie Perry, added that her stepson’s recovery “hinged on [Plasencia] saying no.”
Defense attorney Karen Golstein admitted her client made “grave errors in judgment” in prescribing the anesthetic off-label, saying, “The mistakes he made during those 13 days will haunt him for life.”
Federal authorities continue to pursue others connected to the case, including Jasveen ‘Ketamine Queen’ Sangha, accused of providing Perry with the fatal dose. She is set to be sentenced in February.
Perry—best known for his role as the sarcastic and beloved Chandler Bing—was found unresponsive in his Los Angeles hot tub in October 2023. His death sent shockwaves through Hollywood and reignited conversations about addiction, recovery, and the devastating toll of prescription drug misuse.
