How the overdose death of a beloved TV star highlights a new era of accountability for drug dealers

By Jack Hannah, CNN

(CNN) — “I’m really select with people … red carpet motherf**kers.”

For years, Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the “Ketamine Queen,” ran what prosecutors say in a sentencing memo was a “high volume drug trafficking business out of her North Hollywood residence.” She marketed herself, prosecutors say, as a dealer who sold exclusively to A-list clientele.

The lifestyle had its benefits. Prosecutors say Sangha had a privileged background yet chose to deal drugs “not because of financial deprivation, but for greed, glamor and access.”

That all changed on October 28, 2023 when “Friends” star Matthew Perry was found floating face down in his hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.

The Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office listed the cause of death as “acute effects of ketamine” and subsequent drowning.

Sangha and four others were charged in August 2024 in connection with Perry’s death.

A year later, Sangha agreed to plead guilty to five federal criminal charges, including providing the ketamine that led to Perry’s death. Her plea follows the path of the other four defendants who struck a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.

‘We will hold drug-dealers accountable’

Shortly after Sangha’s indictment, then-US Attorney for the Central District of California, E. Martin Estrada, told reporters “Defendants nowadays are on full notice that the products they sell could result in the death of another person. Therefore, if you’re in the drug business and despite these risks, you continue in the drug business, you are pushed by greed to gamble with other people’s lives, be advised, we will hold you accountable.”

Perry’s case draws parallels to the drug-related death of Mac Miller in September of 2018. The rapper died after an accidental overdose of fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol.

Major league pitcher Tyler Skaggs died with high levels of opioids in his system in 2019. Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in 2014 with a syringe in his arm and a lethal combination of heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine in his system.

In each of these celebrity deaths, those who were alleged to have supplied illegal substances were arrested. Not all of them were convicted.

Legal experts say the emphasis on higher-profile cases and related prosecutions can play a crucial role in deterring illegal drug activities.

“The emphasis on high-profile cases largely stems from the visibility they bring to the issue, helping to shed light on the broader implications of the drug crisis,” Andrew Pickett, a lead trial attorney based in Melbourne, Florida, told CNN in August 2024.

“They serve as a warning to both practitioners operating on the fringes of legality and those facilitating substance abuse,” Pickett said.

The rise of drug-related deaths has forced law enforcement and prosecutors around the country to adjust tactics by dedicating more personnel to aggressively target traffickers and dealers.

Even the death of a customer is not always a deterrent for a drug dealer to halt their illicit business practices. CNN’s Josh Campbell met up with an undercover officer to discuss the issue in 2022. Asked why dealers would aggressively sell a product with a high potential to kill their customers, the LAPD detective said that is not a paramount issue for cartels and those selling fentanyl to teens.

“It all comes down to money, it all comes down to profit,” he said. “The dealer’s main objective is to get you hooked, and if you don’t die from it, then you’re a customer for as long as you live.

That appears to have been the case with Perry.

Estrada, the federal prosecutor, mentioned Perry’s battles with addiction, which have been well documented for years. The actor published a memoir less than a year before his death describing his decades-long struggles.

“The investigation revealed that in the fall of 2023, Mr. Perry fell back into addiction and these defendants took advantage to profit for themselves,” Estrada said in 2024.

Accountability is not reserved solely for high profile deaths

While investigating Perry’s death, the US Attorney’s Office said they uncovered an underground network of doctors and drug suppliers they claim were responsible for distributing the ketamine.

The 2019 overdose death of aspiring personal trainer Cody McLaury was found to have a haunting connection to Perry. Though the two men did not know each other, prosecutors say Sangha was a common connection.

When her brother died, Kimberly McLaury texted the person who she believes sold him the drug that killed him: Jasveen Sangha.

After receiving her brother’s phone back from police, McLaury found a text chat with the alleged dealer, indicating her brother paid for the ketamine through Venmo.

“After his death certificate came out, I texted back and said ‘just so you know the ketamine that you sold my brother was listed as his cause of death,’” she told CNN.

McLaury never heard back. “I just assumed that she didn’t care,” she said.

Sangha was not charged with McLaury’s death, but prosecutors asked the judge to take her role in his death into account in their sentencing.

“Unfortunately, just like Mr. McLaury’s death, Mr. Perry’s death did not alter defendant’s illegal conduct,” prosecutors said.

A federal judge will decide the ‘Queen’s’ fate

Roughly two and a half years after Perry’s tragic death, Sangha will face a judge Wednesday who will determine her fate.

Her attorneys, Mark Geragos and Alexandra Kazarian, argue in the sentencing memorandum that their client has accepted responsibility for her “serious” criminal conduct.

“She has been detained since August 15, 2024, and has used that time wisely and productively, participating in programming, and supporting others in recovery,” the attorneys wrote.

They say Sangha “is known as a compassionate, selfless, and reliable person who shows up for others in meaningful ways” and are asking the judge to impose a sentence of time served, followed by appropriate conditions of supervised release.

Federal prosecutors, however, argue the punishment should be more severe. They’re asking for Sangha to spend the next 15 years behind bars.

“She chose profits over people, and her actions have caused immense pain to the victims’ families and loved ones,” they said in their sentencing memorandum.

“(Sangha) had the opportunity to stop after realizing the impact of her dealing – but simply chose not to.”

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CNN’s Josh Campbell, Jason Kravarik, Ashley R. Williams, Taylor Romine and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.