In August, 2025, Jasveen Sangha pleaded guilty to five federal criminal charges, including that she provided the ketamine that ultimately resulted in the overdose death of actor Matthew Perry in October 2023. Sangha, 42, also known as the “Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood, is a dual citizen of the Unites States and the United Kingdom, and has been in federal custody since August 2024.
Sangha appeared to have it all, a privileged upbringing, a good education and a wide circle of friends. However, she had had a dark secret that some of her closest friends say she concealed even from them. A new BBC documentary sheds light on this aspect of Sangha’s life and how she ended up being charged in the Matthew Perry case.
Known as Hollywood’s Ketamine Queen
Known as the Ketamine Queen, she was a dealer to Hollywood’s rich and famous, who ran a “stash house” of drugs including cocaine, Xanax, fake Adderall pills and Ketamine. She gained international attention following her indictment and guilty plea in connection with the death of Friends actor Perry. The facade of Sangha’s glamorous life and business ended after she supplied 50 vials of ketamine, some of which were sold to Perry. Prosecutors claimed that she had run a drug distribution network from her North Hollywood home for several years.
BBC quoted, Bill Bodner, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Los Angeles office at the time of Perry’s death, who stated that she was “a highly educated person who decided to make their living trafficking drugs, and use that money from drug trafficking to finance this social media influencer persona”. He added that she was running a “somewhat large drug trafficking operation catering to the Hollywood elite.”
About Jasveen Sangha
She is of Punjabi origin and the daughter of entrepreneurs Nilem Singh and Baljeet Singh Chhokar. Her grandparents reportedly amassed a fortune in the fashion retail industry in East London. Following her mother’s remarriage, the family relocated to Calabasas in California, where Sangha spent majority of her youth. She completed her high school education in Calabasas in 2001 and went on to attend the University of California, Irvine, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences. She further earned an M.B.A. from Hult International Business School in London in 2010.
A former classmate told BBC that Sangha “didn’t come off as a hustler.” She was friendly but a bit aloof, wore designer clothes, and enjoyed socialising. There were no rumours of drug involvement at school. After finishing her MBA, she returned to Los Angeles. Her mother and stepfather ran KFC franchises but were sued in 2013 for unpaid royalties, and her stepfather later declared bankruptcy. Sangha didn’t talk much about any family financial problems. She seemed motivated by her parents’ entrepreneurial work, opening a short-lived nail salon, Stiletto Nail Bar, and sharing plans to own a restaurant franchise.
Sangha cultivated an image as a curator of art and a frequent traveler between London and Los Angeles in her social media. In the months following the actor’s death, she posted pictures from her travels to Japan and Mexico, enjoying luxury amenities such as caviar and high tea. She also celebrated her 40th birthday at a Hollywood lounge called Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
In February, Sangha is set to be the final defendant sentenced in the case. She could face a maximum of 65 years in federal prison. According to her plea agreement, Sangha worked with Erik Fleming to distribute ketamine. In October 2023, Sangha and Fleming sold Perry 51 vials of ketamine, which were provided to Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, of Toluca Lake, Perry’s live-in personal assistant.
After learning from news reports of Perry’s death, Sangha called Fleming on Signal to discuss how to distance themselves from it. That day, Sangha updated the settings on the Signal apps to automatically delete her messages with Fleming. She further instructed Fleming to “Delete all our messages.”
It is reported that weeks before Perry’s death, Sangha spoke on the phone with her long-time friend Tony Marquez. Both of them partied in LA. Marquez talked to the BBC for a documentary about Perry in which he shared about Sangha as well. Marquez had met her family and said she never showed signs of trouble.
“We would take a trip to Lake Havasu, rent a big old mansion, and we would bring our DJs, all our sound systems, and every night would be a theme night that would just be us,” Marquez said. These parties “always involved ketamine”, he added.
