The woman prosecutors branded the “Ketamine Queen” just got one of the heaviest penalties in the Matthew Perry case, and that changed the temperature around the whole story. On April 9, Jasveen Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple drug charges, including supplying the ketamine that contributed to Perry’s death in October 2023. The sentence did more than close one chapter in a celebrity overdose case. It turned Sangha into the clearest symbol yet of how aggressively prosecutors wanted to frame this network of dealers, doctors, and middlemen.
Federal prosecutors said Sangha ran a long-term drug operation out of North Hollywood and sold ketamine and other narcotics to high-end clients. They also said her conduct contributed to at least two deaths, including Perry’s. That broader picture matters because it pushes the story beyond one tragic Hollywood connection and into something darker: a dealer accused of treating wealthy users as part of a much bigger business.
Ketamine Queen Gets the Harshest Blow
The 15-year sentence stands out because it is far steeper than the punishments handed down so far to several others tied to Perry’s death. Earlier federal updates showed that Dr. Salvador Plasencia received two and a half years, while another doctor, Mark Chavez, was sentenced to house arrest. That gap helps explain why Sangha became the face of the case in a way the others did not. Prosecutors clearly wanted the court to see her not as a fringe player, but as the center of the supply chain that turned fatal.
Her plea also helped avoid a trial that had been expected to draw even more attention. The Justice Department said last year that Sangha agreed to plead guilty to five federal charges, including one count tied directly to Perry’s overdose death. By sentencing day, the legal fight was no longer about whether she was involved. It was about how hard the court would hit her for it.
Matthew Perry Case Gets a New Center
That shift matters because the public story around Perry’s death has moved in stages. First came the shock of the overdose. Then came the wider investigation into doctors, intermediaries, and supply lines. Now, with Sangha’s sentencing, the story has narrowed around accountability and who profited most recklessly from Perry’s addiction. The government’s own language made that plain. Prosecutors described her as a dealer funding a lavish lifestyle while selling dangerous drugs to affluent clients, which is exactly the kind of image that can harden a judge fast.
The case also remains bigger than one sentence. Earlier Justice Department filings laid out roles for five defendants, including Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, doctor Salvador Plasencia, doctor Mark Chavez, and Erik Fleming. Some have already been sentenced, while others pleaded guilty earlier in the process. That means Sangha’s prison term is a major milestone, but not the only legal consequence to come out of the investigation.
The Story Turns From Tragedy to Warning
The celebrity angle will always keep this case in public view, but the newer reporting gives it a harsher edge. Sangha was not sentenced only because she was linked to a famous victim. She was sentenced as someone federal prosecutors said ran an ongoing narcotics business with deadly results. That framing makes the Perry case feel less like a one-off Hollywood scandal and more like a warning about the private drug economy that can thrive around wealth and access.
And that is probably why this sentence landed so hard. Fifteen years is not a symbolic slap. It is the court saying this was not casual dealing, not blurry responsibility, and not something to explain away with celebrity chaos. In the Matthew Perry case, Sangha has now become the defendant who absorbed the full weight of that message.
