Matthew Perry Case Update: Disgraced Doctor Who Called 'Friends' Star a 'Moron' Pleads Guilty to Selling Beloved Actor Deadly Drug Ketamine
Matthew Perry's doctor Salvador Plasencia pled guilty to giving the actor drugs.
July 23 2025, Published 5:10 p.m. ET
A doctor who once referred to Matthew Perry as a "moron" and openly wondered how much he would be willing to pay for drugs has officially pleaded guilty to his role in the death of the actor, RadarOnline.com can confirm.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia is now the fourth of the five people charged in connection with Perry’s death to plead guilty.
Perry's autopsy report revealed the extreme levels of ketamine in his system at the time of his death.
Perry's death on Oct. 28, 2023, was a result of the acute effects of ketamine and subsequent drowning, according to an autopsy report by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office.
In August 2024, prosecutors announced the arrests of Plasencia, Erik Fleming, Jasveen Sangha, Mark Chavez and Kenneth Iwamasa.
During a court hearing Wednesday, he pled guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine as part of a plea deal. As part of the plea agreement, which was reached last month, prosecutors will drop three additional distribution charges and two counts of falsifying records.
Plasencia, 43, was to have gone on trial in August. The only words he spoke during the hearing came when asked if his lawyers had considered all the possibilities of pleas and sentencing in the case. Plasencia simply replied, "They’ve considered everything."
'Ketamine Queen'
He struggled with drugs for decades.
Plasencia now faces a maximum of 40 years when he is sentenced on Dec. 3.
In a statement after the hearing, the doctor’s attorney, Debra White, said: "Dr. Plasencia is profoundly remorseful for the treatment decisions he made while providing ketamine to Matthew Perry. He is fully accepting responsibility by pleading guilty to drug distribution.
"Dr. Plasencia intends to voluntarily surrender his medical license, acknowledging his failure to protect Mr. Perry, a patient who was especially vulnerable due to addiction."
Prosecutors have already conceded that while Plasencia sold Perry the drug, he did not sell him the fatal dose. That blame goes to Jasveen Sangha, a drug dealer also known as the "Ketamine Queen."
She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting her trial to begin next month.
What a 'Moron'
Authorities found bags of drugs during a raid at the 'ketamine queen's' home.
Prosecutors had already said Perry's ketamine use began by obtaining the drug through greedy doctors like Plasencia before he sought out street dealers. Court filings further revealed the doctors made thousands of dollars by supplying the star with the controlled substance.
In one instance, Plascencia and Chavez schemed to charge the actor $2,000 for a vial that cost $12. The doctors allegedly worked with Sangha to procure 20 vials of ketamine for Perry from September to October 2023 "in exchange for $55,000."
Authorities claimed Plascencia once texted Chavez: "I wonder how much this moron will pay."
Addiction Struggle
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Four of Perry's five doctors have now accepted plea deals.
Plasencia is said to have allegedly kept supplying drugs to Perry up to a point where the Whole Nine Yards star's addiction worsened, and he then turned to street dealers to score ketamine cheaper and quicker.
Perry struggled with addiction for years, with it first becoming public during his time starring in Friends.
He quickly shot to fame alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer until the show ended in 2004.
Federal prosecutors said that in the weeks leading up to Perry's death, he fell back into addiction, which "spiraled out of control" during the fall of 2023.
