Matthew Perry's assistant gets 41 months in ketamine death case

A Los Angeles federal judge sentenced Matthew Perry’s live-in personal assistant to 41 months in prison, a punishment that closed the last criminal chapter in the actor’s ketamine death and exposed how a trusted household insider became a key link in an illicit drug chain.

U.S. District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett imposed the sentence on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Los Angeles and also ordered Kenneth Iwamasa to pay a $10,000 fine. Federal prosecutors said Iwamasa, 61, of Toluca Lake, California, repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine, including the fatal dose in October 2023. Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.

The sentence brought to an end a 2 1/2-year federal investigation and prosecution that centered on how ketamine moved from suppliers and intermediaries into the hands of a wealthy Hollywood client. Prosecutors said the case closed the prosecution of five people who admitted roles in supplying the drug to Perry, whose death at 54 from the acute effects of ketamine became one of the most visible warnings about illegally obtained ketamine and the people who help keep it flowing.

The case also laid bare the chain of responsibility inside Perry’s orbit. Iwamasa was not a distant courier but the actor’s live-in personal assistant, a position that gave him direct access to Perry’s home and routines in the San Fernando Valley. That access, prosecutors said, allowed him to administer the drug repeatedly and helped sustain the addiction that ended in Perry’s death. The case has become a stark example of how the gray market around ketamine can operate through familiar faces, private arrangements and informal trust rather than overt street-level dealing.

Perry’s family made clear how personal that betrayal felt. Suzanne Morrison, along with half-sisters Caitlin Morrison and Madeline Morrison, submitted victim impact statements before the hearing. Family members publicly accused Iwamasa of enabling Perry’s addiction and misleading them about what happened. Related proceedings had already sent Erik Fleming to two years in prison, while Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Ketamine Queen,” received 15 years, leaving Iwamasa as the final sentencing in a case that forced attention onto the fragile oversight surrounding concierge-style access to powerful drugs before a death occurs.