A former manufacturer and drug counselor who distributed the ketamine that killed Matthew Perry was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday.
Eric Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of two and a half years; Fleming’s lawyers asked for three months, followed by three years of supervised release.
Fleming admitted in his plea agreement that he distributed the ketamine that took Perry’s life in October 2023. He also admitted to obtaining ketamine from Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen”, and distributing 50 vials of ketamine to the actor’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa.
Sangha, 42, was one of five people charged with conspiring to distribute ketamine to Perry, who died from the acute effects of the drug. Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in prison last month.
Salvador Plasencia, a former physician who supplied ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to his death, was sentenced to 30 months – nearly two and a half years – in prison. Mark Chavez, another former doctor who played a role in providing ketamine to the actor, was sentenced to eight months of house arrest.
Iwamasa, Perry’s former personal assistant, has not yet been sentenced.
In a six-page letter to the judge before sentencing, Fleming said he felt “overwhelmed with grief and shame” after learning of Perry’s death and apologized to the actor’s family.
He said he had obtained ketamine for Perry, “because I needed money and because I felt I was doing a friend a favor.”
Fleming wrote, “As a certified drug counselor and addict, I knew that distributing black market drugs was illegal and wrong.” “I had met Matt several times and knew of his struggles with substance abuse. I should never have agreed to purchase ketamine for Matt.”
