Dr. Salvador Placencia is expected to plead guilty to a charge arising from Matthew Perry’s accidental overdose in 2023 in a series of cases targeting people who supplied large quantities of ketamine to “friends” actors.
Placencia agreed to plead guilty to four counts of ketamine distribution last month and held a formal hearing on the matter in federal court on Wednesday. According to an agreement with prosecutors, Placencia is facing up to 40 years of prison and three years of supervised release.
Placencia is also facing a fine of at least $2 million, the deal said.
Perry was found dead on October 28, 2023 at his Pacific Palisade home.
The “Friend” actor was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression and anxiety, but investigations revealed that Perry illegally seeks drugs outside of his treatment.
Perry’s personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, was one of five people charged with the actor’s death. Iwamasa pleaded guilty in 2024, and court documents in his case revealed that Perry had experienced an addiction out of control.
The former assistant told authorities that Perry was introduced to Placencia a few weeks before the actor passed away, and doctors said Perry had sold both liquid ketamine and ketamine lozenge. He also said he taught Iwata how to inject Perry despite the fact that Iwamasa had no medical training.
According to Iwamasa’s legal agreement, Perry said he paid Placencia up to $55,000 for the drug the month before his death.
Federal prosecutors alleged in court documents that Placencia told the patient Perry was “too far away and swirling around his addiction,” but continued to sell him drugs anyway. A text message between Mark Chavez, a former doctor who pleaded guilty to the Placencia and Perry case, showed the man ock laughing at how much money he could get from the Ketamine actor.
“I wonder how much this idiot will pay,” Placencia said. “Let’s find it.”
