Matthew Perry ketamine supplier Erik Fleming sentenced to two years in prison

A licensed drug addiction counsellor who provided “Friends” actor Matthew Perry with the ketamine doses that caused his death has been handed a two-year prison term.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett delivered the sentence to 56-year-old Erik Fleming at a federal court in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Prior to sentencing, Fleming told the court: “It’s truly a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’m haunted by the mistakes I made.” Wearing a black suit, he spoke to the courtroom in a subdued tone. Fleming, who had stayed free on bond for almost two years, was instructed to turn himself in within 45 days. He also received a three-year probation sentence.

He was the fourth of five accused to be sentenced after admitting guilt in relation to Perry’s 2023 death in the Jacuzzi at his Los Angeles residence. Fleming had connected Perry to Jasveen Sangha, the convicted drug supplier prosecutors dubbed “The Ketamine Queen.” She received a 15-year prison sentence last month.

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Investigators located Fleming at his sister’s residence, asleep on a sofa, several months following Perry’s death. He became the first accused to enter a guilty plea in August 2024, confessing to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.

His solicitor, Robert Dugdale, informed the court Fleming had essentially “handed over the Ketamine Queen on a silver platter”. “They didn’t have a clue who she was before that day,” Dugdale said. Federal sentencing guidelines indicated Fleming could have faced approximately four years behind bars were it not for his cooperation with investigators.

While prosecutors conceded he merited some recognition for aiding the inquiry, they contended he only acted once he had been backed into a corner by authorities.

Assistant US Attorney Ian Yanniello said: “Mr. Fleming didn’t cooperate because he had a benevolent motive, or because he wanted justice for Mr. Perry. He wanted to save himself.”

The presiding judge also noted that Fleming failed to come forward in the months following Perry’s death, adding that some evidence might have surfaced through the seizure of his phone regardless. Nevertheless, all parties concurred that his cooperation hastened the investigation.

Prosecutors argued that Fleming’s position as a drug counsellor who “deliberately undertook to sell illegal street drugs to a victim who had a public, well-documented battle with drug addiction” should be held against him.

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Defence attorneys emphasised Fleming’s clean criminal record, noting he had spent merely 11 days supplying drugs to a solitary customer. They called for a three-month custodial sentence, to be followed by nine months in a residential drug rehabilitation facility.

Fleming addressed the court, stating his remorse “can’t compare to the agony I’ve caused” Perry’s family and friends. His legal representatives also highlighted what they termed substantial rehabilitation achievements, including 20 months of abstinence and contributing to the establishment of a sober living facility. Following the proceedings, he warmly greeted numerous supporters who had come to court to back him.

Perry had been receiving ketamine therapy for depression, an increasingly prevalent off-label application of the substance.

In the weeks preceding his death, Perry pursued larger doses than medical professionals would authorise and requested a friend’s assistance in securing additional supplies. She put him in touch with Fleming, a former film and television producer whose career had been undermined by addiction.

According to his legal team, Fleming had suffered a relapse after his stepmother’s death in 2023, the woman who had helped rescue him from a harrowing childhood.

Fleming sourced ketamine from Sangha, marked up the cost for financial gain and transported it to Perry’s residence, where it was passed to the actor’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.

One consignment comprised 25 vials costing $6,000 just four days prior to Perry’s death.

On October 28, 2023, Iwamasa administered Perry with ketamine from that supply before subsequently discovering the actor deceased. A medical examiner determined Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine, with drowning listed as a secondary cause.

Iwamasa is scheduled to be the final defendant sentenced in the matter in a fortnight.

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Perry, who passed away aged 54, became one of the era’s most iconic television personalities portraying Chandler Bing in Friends, the acclaimed NBC sitcom which aired from 1994 until 2004. An auction of Perry’s belongings, including memorabilia from “Friends”, is set to benefit the foundation established in his name following his death.