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On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, a Southern California doctor pleaded guilty to providing ketamine to Friends actor Matthew Perry in the weeks leading up to his death, CNN reported. He became the fourth person convicted in connection with Perry’s fatal overdose.
The doctor, identified as Dr. Salvador Plasencia, ran an urgent care clinic in Malibu. He has confessed to four counts of ketamine distribution during a federal court hearing in Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. He had been scheduled to face trial in August before reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.
Plasencia’s attorney, Karen Goldstein, said that the doctor is extremely sorry for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry and fully accepts responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution.
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According to prosecutors, Plasencia supplied Perry and his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, with ketamine vials, lozenges, and syringes between September 30 and October 12, 2023. Matthew Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home. He died on October 28, 2023, at age 54, from the acute effects of ketamine. However, Plasencia was not the one who administered the fatal dose to Perry.
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What Punishment Will Dr Plasencia Face When He Gets Sentenced?
Though Plasencia was not treating Perry at the time of his death, Goldstein said he intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license within the next 30 to 45 days, acknowledging he failed to protect a vulnerable patient struggling with addiction.
Plasencia is out on bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3, 2025. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each count (a total statutory maximum of up to 40 years). As mentioned earlier, he will also surrender his medical license.
Dr Salvador Plasencia Was Among Those Who Supplied Ketamine To Matthew Perry
Court documents revealed that Plasencia charged Perry thousands of dollars for at-home ketamine treatments. On another occasion, Plasencia administered ketamine to Perry at a parking lot in Santa Monica.
According to ABC News, his co-defendant, Dr. Mark Chavez, reprimanded him via text, telling him that dosing people in cars and in a public place where children are present was inappropriate. According to the LA Times, in text messages to Chavez, Plasencia expressed his intent to profit off Perry, referring to the actor as a “moron” and asking, “I wonder how much this moron will pay.”
The day before Matthew Perry’s death, Plasencia texted Iwamasa, indicating he had left a ketamine supply with a nurse in case the actor needed more while he was out of town. However, it should be noted that Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that killed Perry.
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Other Convicts In Matthew Perry’s Death Case
Eric Fleming, another defendant in the case, admitted to distributing the ketamine that ultimately caused Perry’s death. Fleming pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
Prosecutors said he obtained the drugs from Jasveen Sangha, who is accused of supplying 50 vials of ketamine to Perry over two weeks. Sangha, allegedly known as “The Ketamine Queen,” faces charges for distributing the fatal dose to the actor with the help of Fleming and Iwamasa.
Iwamasa, who injected Matthew Perry with ketamine the day he died, pleaded guilty in August. He is charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine, causing death, and his sentencing is scheduled in November, along with Fleming. Chavez, the second doctor involved, pleaded guilty in October 2024 and awaits sentencing in September.
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