Matthew Perry's assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, queen of the Ketamine Jasveen Sangha, among the five people arrested in connection with his death

Matthew Perry's live-in assistant injected him with the ketamine that killed him, federal prosecutors claimed Thursday.

The revelation came as prosecutors announced that five people had been arrested in connection with his death, including a woman nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen of Los Angeles” and a doctor. All three were accused of stealing from the Friends A star's addiction to getting rich.

Perry, 54, was found by the same assistant who administered the injection, lying facedown in a hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home last October.

After an autopsy revealed that the actor had died from the acute effects of ketamine, an extensive investigation was launched to uncover the source of the drug.

Martín Estrada, the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, announced during Thursday's conference that five defendants had been charged in connection with Perry's death. This came after it was announced Thursday that arrests had been made as a result of the investigation. Estrada said the investigation into Perry's death had “uncovered a broad, underground criminal network responsible for distributing large quantities of ketamine to Mr. Perry and others.”

That network, Estrada said, includes Perry's “live-in assistant,” Kenneth Iwamasa. Iwamasa's LinkedIn page describes his role as “senior assistant with personal management responsibilities for client Matthew Perry for 25 years.”

In total, five people were charged: Iwamassa, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, Jasveen Sangha (who authorities say is known as the “ketamine queen”), another doctor named Mark Chavez and an acquaintance of Perry's named Erik Fleming. Plasencia and Sangha are the main defendants of the five, authorities said.

Estrada said that Plasencia, an emergency room doctor, “worked with his live-in assistant, defendant Kenneth Iwamasa, to distribute ketamine to Mr. Perry.” Over two months from September to October 2023, Estrada said, “they distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Mr. Perry in exchange for $55,000 in cash,” and that “Plasencia saw this as an opportunity to make money off of Mr. Perry.” Estrada shared text messages allegedly sent by Plasencia, reading aloud, “I wonder how much this idiot is going to pay.”

Iwamasa injected Perry with the ketamine despite having no medical training, authorities found. Sangha “worked with a broker, Defendant Fleming, and also with his live-in assistant, Defendant Iwamassa, to distribute this ketamine.” A search of Sangha's home “discovered what amounted to a drug trafficking center,” Estrada said, which included “80 vials of ketamine, thousands of pills of methamphetamine, cocaine, bottles of Xanax and other illegally obtained prescription drugs.”

The charges against the defendants include conspiracy to distribute ketamine, distribution of ketamine resulting in death, operating drug premises, and forgery.

Estrada concluded, “These defendants were more concerned with profiting from Mr. Perry than with caring about his well-being,” and expressed hope that the charges send a clear message: “If you are in the business of selling dangerous drugs, we will hold you accountable for the deaths you cause.”

Later Thursday, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California confirmed that both Sangha and Plasencia made initial appearances in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. The two were arraigned and pleaded not guilty.

Sangha was detained without bail, while U.S. Magistrate Judge Alka Sagar set bail for Plasencia at $100,000.

Plasencia's trial date is October 8, Sangha's a week later, on October 15. However, prosecutors expect the dates to be combined “at some point in the near future.”