{"id":5839,"date":"2026-05-13T17:03:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839"},"modified":"2026-05-13T17:03:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:03:16","slug":"hawthorne-man-who-was-the-middleman-in-matthew-perry-ketamine-deals-to-be-sentenced-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839","title":{"rendered":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By FRED SHUSTER<\/strong> | City News Service<\/p>\n

A man who acted as the middleman in ketamine deals between a San Fernando Valley drug dealer and the personal assistant who administered a fatal dose of the drug to \u201cFriends\u201d actor Matthew Perry is expected to be sentenced Wednesday for his role in the death.<\/p>\n

Read more US and China seek to repair damage from tariff war that sent trade into a freefall<\/a><\/p>\n

Erik Fleming, 55, of Hawthorne, faces up to 25 years in federal prison for his August 2024 guilty pleas to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in death. While prosecutors are asking for a prison sentence of two years, six months, Fleming\u2019s attorneys are requesting three months in prison, a nine-month residential drug treatment program, and three years of supervised release.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE:<\/strong> \u2018Shoot me up with a big one\u2019: A timeline of the last days of Matthew Perry<\/p>\n

He will be the fourth of five defendants to be sentenced in Perry\u2019s October 2023 death. The final defendant in the case, Perry\u2019s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, is set to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett on May 27.<\/p>\n

Perry, who had long struggled with addiction and wrote about it in a memoir, illegally obtained the powerful dissociative anesthetic from at least two sources. The drug is used medically for anesthesia, depression and pain management and has some hallucinogenic effects.<\/p>\n

Beginning in mid-October 2023, Iwamasa obtained ketamine for Perry from Fleming, who was getting it from Jasveen Sangha, the North Hollywood dealer investigators dubbed the \u201cKetamine Queen,\u201d according to court papers.<\/p>\n

After discussing prices with Iwamasa, Fleming coordinated sales with Sangha, twice bringing cash from Iwamasa to Sangha\u2019s stash house for a total of 50 vials of the drug in exchange for $11,000, documents show.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

On Oct. 28, 2023, Iwamasa injected Perry with at least three shots of Sangha\u2019s ketamine, causing Perry\u2019s death, authorities said.<\/p>\n

When she pleaded guilty in L.A. federal court last year, Sangha admitted knowing that the ketamine she sold to Fleming was marked for Perry.<\/p>\n

Perry also obtained the drug via then-physician Salvador Plasencia, a Santa Monica doctor who owned and operated a Calabasas-based urgent-care clinic.<\/p>\n

In late September 2023, Plasencia learned that Perry was interested in obtaining the drug, which is also used as a so-called party drug known in some circles as \u201cSpecial K,\u201d according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Plasencia contacted fellow doctor Mark Chavez \u2014 then a licensed San Diego physician who operated a ketamine clinic \u2014 to obtain the drug to sell to the actor. In text messages to Chavez, Plasencia discussed how much to charge Perry for the ketamine, stating, \u201cI wonder how much this moron will pay,\u201d records show.<\/p>\n

Read more Israeli drone strikes on vehicles in Lebanon kill 12 people, including 2 children<\/a><\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Plasencia illegally distributed ketamine to Perry and Iwamasa on at least seven occasions and taught the personal assistant how to inject Perry with the drug. Plasencia knew that Iwamasa had never received medical training and knew little, if anything, about administering or treating patients with controlled substances, court papers state.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Perry was paying $2,000 per vial of ketamine, while his dealers were paying $12 for each vial.<\/p>\n

Perry detailed his years-long struggle with addiction in the 2022 memoir \u201cFriends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.\u201d The \u201cFriends\u201d star, who played the character Chandler Bing in the series from 1994 to 2004, said he went through detox dozens of times.<\/p>\n

The actor was found dead Oct. 28, 2023, in a jacuzzi behind his Pacific Palisades home of a fatal ketamine overdose. He was 54. The five defendants were charged in connection with his death in an 18-count indictment handed down in August 2024.<\/p>\n

Sangha, 42, was sentenced last month to 15 years behind bars for supplying the fatal ketamine dose that caused Perry\u2019s death. She pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug-involved premises, three counts of distribution of ketamine, and distribution of ketamine resulting in death or serious bodily injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo cultivate her business, defendant marketed herself as an exclusive dealer who catered to high-profile Hollywood clientele,\u201d prosecutors wrote in sentencing papers. \u201cAs she told one customer in 2020, \u2018I\u2019m really select with people,\u2019 and \u2018it\u2019s a very VIP circle of celebs.\u201d\u2018<\/p>\n

NBC\u2019s \u201cDateline\u201d correspondent Keith Morrison, Perry\u2019s stepfather, described the late actor and author for the downtown Los Angeles courtroom in a victim impact statement when Sangha was sentenced.<\/p>\n

Perry was \u201cgenerous and kind and annoying\u201d until \u201cthe old addiction came back,\u201d Morrison said, adding that he has been left with \u201ca grinding sadness\u201d since the death of his stepson.<\/p>\n

Plasencia, 44, also known as \u201cDr. P,\u201d pleaded guilty in July 2025 to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He was sentenced in December to two years, six months behind bars for illegally supplying the drug.<\/p>\n

Chavez, 55, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. The second of two former doctors convicted in Perry\u2019s death, Chavez was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and ordered to perform 300 hours of community service.<\/p>\n

Iwamasa, 60, of Toluca Lake, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. He faces up to 15 years in federal prison at sentencing later this month.<\/p>\n

Read more Foreigners with World Cup tickets won\u2019t have to pay bonds to enter US, Trump administration tells AP<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Erik Fleming faces up to 25 years in federal prison for his August 2024 guilty pleas to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in the actor’s death.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Erik Fleming faces up to 25 years in federal prison for his August 2024 guilty pleas to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in the actor's death.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839\"},\"wordCount\":903,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Facts\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839\",\"name\":\"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":742},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5839#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"Erik Fleming faces up to 25 years in federal prison for his August 2024 guilty pleas to conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distribution of ketamine resulting in the actor's death.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday","datePublished":"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839"},"wordCount":903,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp","articleSection":["Facts","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839","name":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-13T17:03:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/49c27ff7104a389983ab68a9601c1afd.webp","width":1024,"height":742},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5839#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hawthorne man who was the middleman in Matthew Perry ketamine deals to be sentenced Wednesday"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}