Matthew PerryThe “Friends” star’s personal assistant, who descended into ketamine addiction and injected a fatal dose of the drug, was sentenced Wednesday to three years and five months in prison.Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett sentenced Kenneth Iwamasa to 60 years in federal court in Los Angeles. He was also sentenced to two years of probation and a fine of USD 10,000.It was the fifth and final verdict in the two-and-a-half-year investigation and prosecution that followed Perry’s death on October 28, 2023, at the age of 54.
No evidence that Kenneth Iwamasa acted with malicious intent
“You heard about his struggle with addiction,” Garnett said before sentencing. “Your conduct was reckless, not only on the day of his death, but in the days leading up to his death.”The sentence was what prosecutors had asked for, although Garnett disagreed on some details. He found that Iwamasa did not abuse a position of trust, which could have led to more jail time.He also told Iwamasa, “There is no hard evidence that you acted with malicious intent, although some disagree.”Iwamasa was by Perry’s side in the last days of her life, acting as the actor’s agent, drug courier and de facto doctor. She was the last person to see Perry alive, and she was the one who found him dead in his jacuzzi.
Kenneth Iwamasa apologizes to Matthew Perry’s family
Iwamasa stood at the judge’s podium before the verdict and made an unusual move to look at Perry’s family and friends as he spoke into the microphone.“I feel terribly, terribly, and I offer my condolences,” he said. “I am sorry that I committed these illegal acts that I will regret forever. I will take that to my grave.”Iwamasa wore a charcoal gray suit with long white hair combed back. He had no visible reaction to the sentence. His father and brother sat in the audience with other supporters.
Kenneth Iwamasa was the first to get a plea deal
Iwamasa was the first person to reach a plea deal with prosecutors, pleading guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death, becoming their most important witness.Iwamasa’s lawyer, Alan Eisner, argued for a six-month prison sentence with six months of home detention, noting that he was acting under the orders of a superior who had far more power than him.“Her loyalty to Mr. Perry was paramount,” Eisner told the judge. “He worshiped Mr. Perry, he exalted Mr. Perry. All he did was please and accommodate Mr. Perry.”When Eisner said Iwamasa couldn’t have acted any differently than he did, the judge cut him off and said, “No way. No way. He could have said no.”
Matthew Perry’s parents blame Kenneth Iwamasa for the actor’s death
In letters to the judge, Perry’s mother and sisters made it clear that there is no one more to blame for his death than Iwamasa: the longtime friend they believed would have helped the actress maintain sobriety, but instead indulged the worst urges of a lifelong addiction.Perry’s stepfather, longtime “Dateline” reporter Keith Morrison, spoke for his loved ones at the sentencing.“We really felt like he was part of the family,” Morrison said. “We trusted him implicitly.”Morrison acknowledged the power imbalance, but said Iwamasa still had a chance.“You had injections. You could have made a phone call,” he said. “But you didn’t. Because you were leading a dandy life.” He added: “You controlled one of the most famous people in the world.”
Kenneth Iwamasa used Matthew Perry’s addiction to his advantage
Lisa Ferguson, Perry’s business manager for most of his career and now the executor of his estate, painted a darker picture, saying that Iwamasa deliberately pushed out everyone else around Perry, including sober friends and medical staff, to consolidate his power and influence. He angrily claimed that he was using Perry’s addiction to his advantage.“You are the monster that killed him,” he said. He said Perry had shown “no shred of guilt or remorse” since his death and should “rot in jail”.“Matthew deserved to live,” she said. “You don’t.”Iwamasa looked closely at Morrison and Ferguson during their statements from the seat next to him.
About Kenneth Iwamasa’s work profile
Perry hired Iwamasa in 2022, paying him US$150,000 a year to live in his Los Angeles home and act as his assistant.The actor was taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally for depression, an increasingly common off-label use. But she wanted more than the doctor would give her.According to Iwamasa’s plea agreement, he bought off-the-book ketamine from another doctor, Salvador Plasencia, who taught him how to inject it. Plasencia was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison in July.Iwamasa also began buying ketamine from Perry’s acquaintance Erik Fleming, who was getting it from a street dealer. Two weeks ago, Fleming was sentenced to two years in prison.
The investigation into the death of Matthew Perry
Dealer Jasveen Sangha, known as the “Queen of Ketamine”, was sentenced to 15 years on April 8.The criminal investigation began shortly after Iwamasa returned from his errands to find Perry dead.The LA County Medical Examiner determined ketamine was the primary cause of death. Drowning was the secondary cause.At first, Iwamasa lied to police, removing ketamine from Perry’s list of drugs he used, and saying nothing about the injections. But after investigators served a search warrant in January 2024, it began to clear.Perry became one of the biggest stars of her generation alongside Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Lisa Kudrow on “Friends,” the megahit NBC sitcom that ran from 1994 to 2004.
