Matthew Perry death: ‘Ketamine Queen’ nickname sparks legal debate ahead of criminal trial

The use of the nickname “Ketamine Queen” to refer to the woman charged in connection with Matthew Perry’s ketamine overdose has sparked legal debate.

While the move was “strategic,” the inclusion of the nickname “risks unfairly prejudging the jury,” Duncan Levin, Harvey Weinstein’s former defense attorney, told Fox News Digital.

Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Queen of Ketamine” in several court documents related to the case, was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. She was also charged with one count of maintaining a drug 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.

However, Sangha’s legal team has rejected the idea that she ever met Perry, who died on October 28 after an apparent ketamine overdose.

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Jasveen Sangha has been arrested and charged with multiple offenses in the death of Matthew Perry. (Jojo Korsh/BFA.com / Shutterstock)

“My client has never met Matthew Perry, has nothing to do with Matthew Perry and all the rumors that are going around are just urban legends,” Sangha’s attorney Mark Geragos told ABC7.

Geragos criticized the U.S. Attorney’s Office for using “Ketamine Queen” to refer to Sangha in the indictment.

“I admire the ingenuity of this approach,” he said. “I don’t think it has any place in an indictment.”

“Ultimately, while it may attract attention, it also opens the door to accusations of prosecutorial misconduct or unfair labeling.”

— Duncan Levin, former defense attorney for Harvey Weinstein

“We never claimed that she was given the nickname ‘Ketamine Queen.’ That was something that her clients – Erik Fleming, among them – did,” the U.S. attorney’s office told the outlet.

The nickname “paints the defendant in a very negative light before any evidence is presented, suggesting a central role in drug crimes,” said Levin, who is not involved in Sangha’s case.

“The defense will likely argue that this name is inflammatory and irrelevant, especially if the name comes from someone else, because it could influence jurors and distract them from the facts. Ultimately, while it may draw attention, it also opens the door to accusations of prosecutorial misconduct or unfair labeling.”

Jasveen Sangha, the “Ketamine Queen,” rented a home in North Hollywood for the purpose of manufacturing, storing and distributing controlled substances, according to the indictment. (United States Attorney’s Office)

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The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Sangha with providing the fatal dose of ketamine to Perry through his middleman, Erik Fleming, and the actor’s assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.

According to authorities, Iwamasa began looking for other sources of ketamine as Perry’s addiction spiraled out of control. Fleming, who knew Perry through a mutual friend, was introduced to Sangha by an unidentified person for the purpose of obtaining ketamine.

According to court documents, Fleming and Sangha communicated about the price and quantity of ketamine via text messages.

“I just got this from me,” Fleming later wrote to Perry’s assistant in text messages included in Iwamasa’s plea agreement documents. “She only deals with celebrities and high-end products. If it wasn’t good work, she would lose her business.”

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Erik Fleming described the ketamine that Matthew Perry and his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, had in texts included in the indictment. (United States Attorney’s Office)

Sangha’s nickname was “appropriate” to include in the indictment, former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital. However, the founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers said bringing it up now was just a ploy to “win the public relations battle.”

Rahmani added: “It’s probably too late for that.”

“At trial, the defense will try to exclude it if the probative value of the evidence is outweighed by its prejudicial effect,” he said. “It may come down to whether Sangha presented herself as the ketamine queen. If so, that is an admission by the defendant and will likely be accepted.”

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Sangha allegedly maintained a stash house in North Hollywood, California, that she used to “manufacture, store and distribute controlled substances, including methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, and ketamine, a Schedule III controlled substance,” according to court documents.

Ketamine allegedly supplied by Sangha and delivered to Iwamasa by Fleming killed Perry on October 28.

That morning, Perry’s assistant gave the actor a ketamine injection around 8:30 a.m. At 12:45 p.m., Perry had asked Iwamasa to give him another injection while the Friends star watched a movie. About 40 minutes later, Perry asked for another injection, telling Iwamasa, according to the plea agreement, “Give me a big shot.”

The home health aide administered a third injection to Perry while the 54-year-old was near or in a hot tub. Iwamasa then left the home to run errands for Perry. When she returned, the aide found Perry “face down” in the hot tub, deceased.

Perry’s Death According to the autopsy performed on October 29, the effects of ketamine were caused by “acute ketamine effects.” Drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine were cited as contributing factors.

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Matthew Perry died in October 2023 from “acute ketamine effects.” (Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images)

The nickname “Ketamine Queen” would indicate that Sangha was “well-known for supplying illegal substances to others,” Eric Anderson, a former prosecutor and current attorney at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP, told Fox News Digital.

“Being called the ‘Queen of Ketamine’ is similar to being known as ‘Dr. FeelGood’ or ‘The Candy Man,’ nicknames given to doctors involved in drug and steroid scandals in other eras,” Anderson explained.

He added: “It is more difficult for the accused, in this case Jasveen Sangha, to say that he never knew that the victims were using drugs because everyone knew that the accused in question would supply them to him.”

“It indicates that, among those who abuse prescription drugs and/or facilitate their access to consumers, Sangha was well known and trusted. The primary source, if you will. No more than being called the ‘Queen of Sales.’ A jury will hear that and immediately be informed that not only was she selling drugs, she was well known for it. In a case like this, where we are dealing with prescription drug abuse, the prosecution will paint a picture of a world within a world – a world where the rich and famous go to certain people to get their drugs – and that world is small. The picture will be that she was proud of that nickname and earned it.”

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After Perry’s death, Sangha allegedly worked with Fleming and Iwamasa to cover up their involvement.

According to court documents, Fleming and Sangha initially attempted to cover up their involvement in Perry’s death immediately after learning the news. During an Oct. 28 call, Sangha and Fleming discussed distancing themselves from the drug trade by “deleting digital evidence” from their cell phones. Sangha asked Fleming to delete all text messages between the two and updated the settings on Signal — an encrypted messaging app — to automatically delete messages, according to court documents.

Fleming and Perry’s personal assistant spoke by phone on Oct. 30, two days after Perry’s death. Iwamasa revealed that he had “cleaned up the scene” by disposing of the syringes and vials of ketamine, according to the plea agreement.

Iwamasa also claimed that he had “deleted everything.”

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Matthew Perry rose to fame for his role as Chandler Bing on “Friends.” (NBCU/NBCUniversal Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Sangha will be tried in March 2025 after pleading not guilty to the charges against her. Fleming and Iwamasa have both accepted plea deals.

Courts have allowed the use of nicknames as evidence in trials, but their inclusion is based solely on context.

“If it’s a nickname that the defendant used or adopted, it’s likely that the court will allow prosecutors to introduce evidence of its use,” Oleg Nekritin, a defense attorney at the law firm of Robert J. DeGroot, told Fox News Digital. “The court will likely prohibit prosecutors from repeatedly and gratuitously using that nickname to inflame the jury’s passions or to suggest that she committed similar uncharged crimes.”

Nekritin added: “Certainly, any permissible reference to the nickname will be damning for the defense, because there is a reason for every nickname.”

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