Kenneth Iwamasa, the former live-in personal assistant to Matthew Perry, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in federal prison for his role in the actor’s death from acute effects of ketamine in October 2023.
U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also imposed two years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.
Iwamasa, 60 (or 61, according to some records), of Toluca Lake, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and serious bodily injury.
He is the fifth and final defendant sentenced in the federal investigation, which lasted more than two and a half years.
According to court documents and prosecutors, Iwamasa, who had known Matthew Perry since 1992 and began working as his live-in assistant in 2022 at a salary of $150,000 per year, obtained ketamine from multiple sources and repeatedly injected the actor with the drug, despite lacking medical training.
In Perry’s final weeks, Iwamasa administered six to eight doses per day. On October 28, 2023, he injected Perry multiple times before the 54-year-old actor was found unresponsive, face down in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades home.
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Iwamasa was the last person to see Perry alive and the one who discovered his body.
Cause of Death Findings
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled Perry’s cause of death as the acute effects of ketamine, with contributing factors including drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine.
Postmortem blood tests showed ketamine levels consistent with general anesthesia, far exceeding amounts from Perry’s earlier prescribed infusion therapy for depression and anxiety, which had last occurred about a week and a half earlier.
Ketamine’s effects at those levels can cause unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and cardiovascular overstimulation.
During sentencing, Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett told Iwamasa, “You were privy to his struggle with addiction. Your conduct was reckless.” Prosecutors had sought the 41-month sentence, noting Iwamasa’s early cooperation.
He became a key witness after initially omitting details about the injections when first questioned by authorities. A search warrant in January 2024 prompted further cooperation.
Iwamasa conspired with others in an underground network supplying large quantities of ketamine to Perry, including more than $50,000 worth in the weeks before his death.
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Co-defendants included doctors Salvador Plasencia and Mark Chavez, as well as suppliers Erik Fleming and Jasveen Sangha. Sangha received the longest sentence of 15 years. All five pleaded guilty.
Mathew Perry’s Family Response
Defense attorneys argued Iwamasa was acting at his employer’s direction and felt unable to refuse because of the nature of their long relationship.
Perry’s family members expressed strong criticism. His mother reportedly called Iwamasa a “man without a conscience,” while his sisters alleged he abandoned Perry during a seizure and attempted to hide evidence.
The case drew attention to the illegal diversion of ketamine, a Schedule III controlled substance used legitimately as an anesthetic and in some mental health treatments, but dangerous when misused, especially by someone with Perry’s history of substance abuse.
Perry had spoken publicly about his struggles with addiction in interviews and in his 2022 memoir.
Iwamasa’s sentencing concludes the federal prosecutions stemming from Perry’s death. The investigation involved the DEA, LAPD, and other agencies and exposed broader drug distribution networks. Perry, widely known for playing Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom Friends, died at age 54.
