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Man jailed for delivering ketamine to Matthew Perry before his death

Erik Fleming, 56, connected Perry with the drug dealer called Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen", who was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison

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Matthew Perry died in his jacuzzi in his Los Angeles home on 28 October 2023.
Matthew Perry died in his jacuzzi in his Los Angeles home on 28 October 2023. Picture: Getty

By Issy Clarke

A drug counsellor who helped supply Friends star Matthew Perry with ketamine has been handed a two-year prison sentence.

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Erik Fleming, 56, connected Perry with a drug dealer called Jasveen Sangha, known as the "Ketamine Queen", who was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison.

Mr Fleming pleaded guilty in 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of the drug resulting in death or serious injury.

Matthew Perry died in his jacuzzi in his Los Angeles home on 28 October 2023.

He had previously struggled with substance addiction on and off for years before his death.

Read more: Downfall of the British heiress jailed for becoming Matthew Perry's 'Ketamine Queen'

Read more: Doctor who gave Matthew Perry ketamine before fatal overdose sentenced to eight months house arrest

Erik Fleming departs federal court in Los Angeles after being sentenced in connection with the ketamine overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)
Erik Fleming departs federal court in Los Angeles after being sentenced in connection with the ketamine overdose death of actor Matthew Perry, on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman). Picture: Alamy

A report by a medical examiner found the Friends star died from the acute effects of ketamine, a quick-acting anesthetic, and drowning was a secondary cause.

In a letter submitted to the court before his sentencing, Mr Fleming said he personally had struggled with addiction, becoming a drug counsellor after speaking to addicts about his own recovery.

He said in October 2023 he was suffering from a relapse himself and was "desperate" for money.

He wrote: "I procured ketamine for Matthew Perry because I wanted the money and because I thought I was doing a favour for a friend.

"I never contemplated the worst possible outcome."

He told the judge in a federal court in Los Angeles: "It's truly a nightmare I can't wake up from. I'm haunted by the mistakes I made."

Fleming was the fourth defendant sentenced of the five who have pleaded guilty over Perry's death, after Sangha and doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez.

Plasencia was jailed for two-and-a-half years for illegally supplying ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to his death.

Chavez was sentenced to eight months home confinement after admitting selling ketamine to Plasencia.

Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry's live-in assistant, is due to be sentenced in May.

Fleming gave up Sangha to investigators the same day he was found at his sister's house several months after Perry's death.

He would have received a four-year sentence were it not for his cooperation, according to federal sentencing guidelines.