Kenneth Iwamasa, Matthew Perry’s live-in personal assistant, was sentenced on Wednesday to 41 months in federal prison for his role in the actor’s fatal ketamine overdose in October 2023. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Iwamasa helped obtain ketamine and repeatedly injected Perry with the drug, including the dose that led to Perry’s death.
Iwamasa, who had known Perry since 1992 and became his assistant in 2022, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury. He is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in connection with Perry’s death. Prosecutors said that instead of helping Perry maintain sobriety, Iwamasa became his enabler and drug supplier.
Court records show that from September 2023 until Perry’s death, Iwamasa worked with physician Salvador Plasencia and drug counselor Erik Fleming, among others, to knowingly distribute ketamine to Perry. Plasencia did not cause Perry’s death, but prosecutors said he provided 20 vials of ketamine, as well as tablets and syringes, worth $57,000. He also taught Iwamasa how to inject the drug. Plasencia surrendered his medical license in September 2025.
Even after witnessing Plasencia inject Perry with a dose that caused the actor to freeze up and prompted the physician to say, “Let’s not do that again,” Iwamasa arranged for more ketamine through Fleming, court documents said. Fleming obtained the drug from Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen.” On Oct. 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha’s ketamine, which prosecutors said caused Perry’s death.
After Perry died, Iwamasa called 911 to the residence but intentionally left ketamine off the list of medications and drugs Perry had been taking. Prosecutors also said he concealed that he had administered ketamine injections and took steps to destroy evidence related to Perry’s ketamine use in the days before the death. He allegedly told Fleming by phone that he had “deleted everything.”
Sangha, Plasencia and Fleming have already been sentenced to federal prison terms of 15 years, two and a half years and two years, respectively, after pleading guilty to federal narcotics charges. Iwamasa’s duties as Perry’s assistant included coordinating medical care and making sure the actor took lawfully prescribed medications. He was paid $150,000 a year.
United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also fined Iwamasa $10,000 as part of the sentence.
