‘I’m Haunted by the Mistakes I’ve Made’: Man Who Sold Ketamine to Matthew Perry Gets Prison Sentence

The drug counselor who pleaded guilty to distributing ketamine to the ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to two years in prison. The prosecutors said that the defendant sold liquid ketamine to Perry in October 2023, which ended up killing her.

The drug counselor, Erik Fleming, who distributed 51 vials of liquid ketamine that killed actor Matthew Perry, was sentenced to two years in federal prison on May 13th. Fleming had pleaded guilty in 2024 to the charges of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and distributing ketamine resulting in death or serious injury to an individual. Fleming appeared in court on the morning of May 13th in Los Angeles federal court.

The federal court judge decided on a 24-month sentence with no significant fine. The court also directed Fleming to pay a $200 special assessment and to turn himself in by noon on June 29th.

The federal prosecutor recommended a 30-month sentence and three years supervised release, arguing that Fleming was well aware of Perry’s history of addiction and sought to profit from him regardless of the “warning signs of drug-seeking behavior.”

Fleming’s lawyers, citing his cooperation and contrition, argued for three months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. During the court proceedings on May 8th, Fleming expressed his regret. Fleming told the US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett that he understands the word “sorry” cannot make up for the pain that was inflicted.

“I’m haunted by the mistakes I’ve made, Fleming told the court. “If there were a way to bring him back, I would have done it. I’m mortified I played any role in the death of another person, especially someone as beloved as Mr. Perry.”

The judge, however, did not believe that Fleming was just as culpable as Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who administered the ketamine to Perry and supplied more of the drug despite seeing the effect. But she argued that Fleming was “not a whole lot less” responsible.

In court documents, the prosecutors said Fleming was a licensed drug counselor who reached out to Perry in 2023, after he learned through a friend that Perry was seeking ketamine. Fleming sold 51 ten-milliliter vials of liquid ketamine to Perry. The quantity included the portion that finally killed Perry, the star of the popular show Friends, according to the prosecutors.

“Despite knowing the risks and dangers of selling the drugs, defendant brokered multiple drug transactions that ultimately killed Mr. Perry,” said Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, wrote in a sentencing memo to the court. In a letter to the court requesting a lenient sentence, Fleming acknowledged that he knew about Perry’s struggles with drugs.

Prosecutors mentioned that Fleming worked with Jasveen Sangha, the so-called ketamine queen, to give Perry the drug. Sangha was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Perry was found unresponsive in a pool at his home in Los Angeles, Pacific Paradise, by a neighbor in October 2023, and was declared dead. The LA County medical examiner’s office attributed his death to an accidental ketamine overdose. It said drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine used to treat opioid use disorder were factors.

The prosecutors said that Fleming was cooperative and provided useful information about others who were involved in this conspiracy to provide Perry with heroin, according to the court documents.