Jasveen Sangha is set to be sentenced Wednesday in Los Angeles federal court in the case tied to Matthew Perry’s fatal overdose, nearly two years after the Friends actor died at 54 in October 2023. She has been behind bars since her arrest in August 2024 and faces a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Sangha admitted in a plea agreement that she worked with another dealer to provide Perry with dozens of vials of ketamine. She pleaded guilty last year to one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury. Prosecutors have asked for 15 years in prison.
The government says Sangha ran a high-volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence since at least 2019, storing, packaging and distributing ketamine and methamphetamine there. They also say she kept selling dangerous drugs after learning that ketamine she had sold contributed to the deaths of two men, including Cody McLaury, who died hours after Sangha sold him four vials of ketamine in 2019.
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That timeline is what gives Wednesday’s hearing its weight. Prosecutors described her conduct as showing “cold callousness and disregard for life,” saying she “chose profits over people,” and they argued in filings that she “didn't care and kept selling.”
The defense is pressing for time served, saying Sangha has maintained “sustained and exemplary sobriety” while in custody. Prosecutors have pushed back, pointing to recorded jail communications in which they say she talked about obtaining trademarks and securing book rights from the case, including one exchange in which prosecutors quoted her saying, “Oh I know, the plan is in, the f------ trademark is,” after a discussion that included, “We’re gonna sell those book rights.”
Sangha, who was reportedly known as the “Ketamine Queen,” has become the central figure in a case that fused celebrity death, drug dealing and a public fight over accountability. The judge’s sentence will determine whether prosecutors’ 15-year request, the defense’s time-served bid or something in between becomes the punishment for a case that has already ended in one death and a second dealer’s long prison exposure.
