Kenneth Iwamasa, the personal assistant who injected Matthew Perry with the ketamine that killed him, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
The sentence was handed down Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also fined Iwamasa $10,000.
He is the fifth and final defendant to be sentenced in connection with Perry’s death in October 2023, ending a legal proceeding that has lasted nearly two years in court.
Iwamasa, who had known the Friends star since 1992 and began working as a home personal assistant in 2022, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious injury.
His role in Perry’s death was direct and damning.
On October 28, 2023, he injected the actor with at least three injections of ketamine, a drug he had obtained from a supply chain that ultimately traced back to Jasveen Sangha, known in court documents as the “Ketamine Queen.”
The injections caused Perry’s death.
The court heard Iwamasa was fully aware of Perry’s history of substance abuse and was not a qualified medical professional.
Prosecutors were blunt in their judgments, writing in their sentencing position that instead of helping Perry stay sober, Iwamasa “became his enabler and drug supplier.”
His responsibilities as assistant explicitly included coordinating Perry’s medical care and ensuring that he took only legally prescribed medications.
He was paid $150,000 a year for this role.
The chain of events that led to Perry’s death involved several co-conspirators.
Doctor Salvador Plasencia, who has since given up his medical license, provided 20 vials, several tablets and syringes of ketamine worth $57,000, and personally taught Iwamasa how to administer the drug by injection.
At one point, Plasencia injected Perry with a dose that caused the actor to “freeze”, prompting the doctor to say “Let’s not do this anymore”, but Iwamasa then arranged a new supply through drug consultant Erik Fleming, who obtained it from Sangha.
Iwamasa’s conduct following Perry’s death pointed to the original offenses.
When police arrived at the residence following his 911 call, he deliberately omitted ketamine from the list of drugs Perry was taking and hid that he had given her injections.
He also destroyed evidence days before Perry’s death, calling Fleming to tell him he had “deleted everything.”
Sangha is serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison.
Plasencia received two and a half years and Fleming two years. With Iwamasa’s conviction, the legal chapter of one of Hollywood’s most devastating losses is finally closed.
