A licensed drug addiction counselor who supplied the ketamine doses that led to the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry has been sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Erik Fleming, 56, received the sentence from Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in a Los Angeles federal court on Wednesday.
Addressing the judge before his sentencing, Fleming stated, “It’s truly a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’m haunted by the mistakes I made.” He appeared in a black suit, speaking with a deep, somber voice. Fleming, who has been free on bond for approximately two years, was ordered to surrender to serve his term within 45 days and will also face three years of probation.
Fleming is the fourth of five defendants to be sentenced after pleading guilty in connection with the actor’s October 2023 death in the Jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home.
He was instrumental in connecting Perry to Jasveen Sangha, a convicted drug dealer prosecutors dubbed “The Ketamine Queen,” who was sentenced last month to 15 years in prison.
Fleming cooperated with investigators, providing information about Sangha on the same day they located him at his sister’s house, where he was staying months after Perry’s death.
He became the first defendant to plead guilty in August 2024, admitting to one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death.
This occurred before arrests in the case were publicly announced, and Wednesday marked his first court appearance since his involvement became public knowledge.
His attorney, Robert Dugdale, told the judge that Fleming “handed over the Ketamine Queen on a silver platter,” adding, “They didn’t have a clue who she was before that day.” According to federal sentencing guidelines, Fleming would have faced approximately four years in prison without his cooperation.
While the prosecution acknowledged his cooperation, they argued that it was motivated by self-preservation rather than genuine remorse. “Mr. Fleming didn’t cooperate because he had a benevolent motive, or because he wanted justice for Mr. Perry,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Yanniello asserted.
“He wanted to save himself.” The judge also noted that Fleming did not come forward voluntarily in the months following Perry’s death and that the information he provided might have been obtained through other means, such as seizing his phone. However, all parties agreed that his cooperation expedited and streamlined the investigation.
Prosecutors, in a sentencing memo, highlighted Fleming’s role as a drug counselor who “deliberately undertook to sell illegal street drugs to a victim who had a public, well-documented battle with drug addiction,” arguing this should weigh against him, even if Perry was not a regular client. Defense lawyers, conversely, emphasized Fleming’s lack of a criminal record and pointed out that he only engaged in drug dealing for 11 days, supplying a single customer. They had requested a sentence of three months in prison and nine months in a residential drug treatment facility.
Fleming expressed profound remorse, stating it “can’t compare to the agony I’ve caused” to Perry’s family and friends. His legal team also highlighted his significant efforts toward rehabilitation, including 20 months of sobriety and helping establish a sober living home. After the hearing, he embraced several friends who were present in court to support him.
Perry had been receiving ketamine treatments for depression, an increasingly common off-label use. Weeks before his death, Perry sought more of the drug than doctors could provide and asked a friend for assistance.
This friend, then in a treatment facility, introduced Perry to Fleming. Fleming, a former film and television producer whose career was impacted by addiction, had become sober and a drug counselor but relapsed after the 2023 death of a beloved stepmother who had rescued him from a traumatic childhood, his lawyers explained.
Fleming would acquire ketamine from Sangha, mark up the price for profit, and deliver it to Perry’s residence, selling it to the actor’s live-in personal assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa. His deliveries included 25 vials for $6,000 just four days before Perry’s death. Iwamasa subsequently injected Perry from that batch on October 28, 2023, and hours later, found the actor deceased. A medical examiner’s report concluded that Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine, a surgical anesthetic, with drowning as a secondary cause.
Iwamasa is scheduled to be the final defendant sentenced in two weeks. Perry, who was 54 at the time of his death, achieved widespread fame as Chandler Bing on “Friends,” the NBC sitcom that ran from 1994 to 2004. An auction of his valuables, including “Friends” memorabilia, will benefit the foundation established in his name after his passing.
