Matthew Perry was called a “Chandler” and an “idiot” by a doctor and drug dealer in the month before his death

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A doctor and a drug dealer accused of supplying Matthew Perry with thousands of dollars worth of ketamine in the month before his death called him “Chandler” and “idiot,” according to text messages.

The couple are among five people charged earlier this month in connection with the death of 54-year-old Perry. Friends Star was discovered in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023.

The defendants named by the U.S. Attorney's Office include Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, his acquaintance Erik Fleming, doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, and Jasveen Sangha, a North Hollywood woman known as the “Ketamine Queen.”

Text messages between members of the group revealed that they had allegedly conspired behind Perry's back to get him to pay top dollar for the drug. Prosecutors said Perry had become increasingly addicted to the drug in the months before his death.

Law enforcement executed search warrants and seized computers, phones and other electronic devices to identify those responsible for drug trafficking.

“I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay,” Plasencia asked Chavez in a message a month before the actor's death. He added, “Let's find out.”

After meeting Perry, Plasencia, who authorities said administered ketamine to Perry, described the experience as a “bad movie.”

In another case, when coordinating a sale of 25 vials of ketamine valued at $5,000, Fleming, 54, referred to Perry “using the name of a well-known personality who [Perry] portrayed in a television series,” it said in his plea agreement, according to Los Angeles Times. Police officials told the outlet that he called the actor “Chandler.”

Prosecutors allege that Sangha defrauded Perry by initially offering Fleming $160 per vial, but then charging Perry $220. Fleming pocketed an additional $500 in the transaction.

In a statement announcing the charges, U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said, “These defendants were more concerned with profiting from Mr. Perry than with his well-being.”

“Drug dealers who sell dangerous substances gamble with other people's lives for greed. This case and our many other prosecutions of drug dealers who cause deaths send a clear message that we will hold drug dealers accountable for the deaths they cause.”

Fleming pleaded guilty earlier this month to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine causing death. In court, he admitted to giving Perry the ketamine dose that killed him.

Iwamasa, 59, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and admitted to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training, including on the day Perry died.

Chavez, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. The other defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute ketamine to the actor.

A medical examiner later determined that Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. An autopsy report found that the amount of ketamine in Perry's blood was in the range of the amount used for general anesthesia during surgery.

Perry first began using the drug at a local clinic to treat depression and anxiety. Treating depression with ketamine is a new form of therapy, but has shown some promising results. The times reported.

Still, the therapy can be harmful, Dr. Robert McCarron, professor of psychiatry, told the outlet.

“Ketamine can harm or kill someone if it is not carefully monitored and used in an approved therapeutic manner,” he said.

After the news of Perry's death Friends Her co-stars – Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow – released a joint statement asking for time to “process this incredible loss”.

They wrote: “We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just colleagues. We are family. There is so much to say, but for now we take a moment to grieve and process this incredible loss.

“We will say more over time when we are able. For now, our thoughts and love are with Matty's family, friends and everyone who loved him around the world.”