The long-running legal case tied to the 2023 death of beloved *Friends* star Matthew Perry has reached another milestone, with a California man handed a two-year prison sentence for his role in distributing the ketamine that killed the actor, multiple U.S. media outlets have confirmed.
Fifty-six-year-old Erik Fleming, a drug counselor who admitted to sourcing ketamine from a Los Angeles dealer known widely as the “Ketamine Queen” and supplying the controlled anesthetic to Perry, entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine back in August 2024. In addition to his two-year prison term, U.S. federal Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also ordered Fleming to serve three years of supervised release following his incarceration and pay a $200 statutory fine.
Perry, who was globally famous for his decades-long portrayal of Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom *Friends*, was found unresponsive and dead in the backyard hot tub of his Southern California home in October 2023. A subsequent official coroner’s investigation ruled his death was caused by acute toxicity from ketamine, ruling out other contributing factors.
During the sentencing proceedings held Wednesday, Fleming addressed the court directly, expressing profound remorse for his actions that led to Perry’s death. He told the judge that the tragedy is “a nightmare I can’t wake up from” and that he is permanently “haunted by the mistakes I made.” This public expression of regret echoed earlier statements he made in a pre-sentencing letter submitted to the court in April, where he called his choice “the biggest mistake of my life” and said he accepted full responsibility for the harm he caused. Fleming also stated that he provided ketamine to Perry out of a mix of financial motive and a misplaced belief he was helping a friend, writing that he was “overwhelmed with grief and shame” the moment he learned of the actor’s passing. In the memo, his legal team emphasized that he has taken “extreme lengths to atone for his criminal conduct” since Perry’s death.
Court arguments ahead of sentencing showed a clear divide between prosecution and defense over what an appropriate punishment would be. Federal prosecutors pushed for a 30-month prison term for Fleming, while his defense attorneys requested a far more lenient sentence: three months of prison followed by nine months of residential drug treatment.
Fleming is just one of five people charged by federal authorities in connection with Perry’s death. Prosecutors allege that all five defendants exploited Perry’s well-documented struggle with addiction, supplying him with ketamine for profit and ultimately setting the stage for his fatal overdose. All five have pleaded guilty in the federal case, and Fleming is the fourth to receive his sentence.
Just last month, Jasveen Sangha, the 42-year-old Los Angeles dealer nicknamed the “Ketamine Queen” who supplied the ketamine that Fleming passed to Perry, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after her conviction. In December 2024, two medical doctors who also supplied Perry with ketamine in the weeks leading up to his death received their sentences: Dr. Salvador Plasencia was ordered to serve 30 months behind bars, while Dr. Mark Chavez was given eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release.
The only remaining defendant awaiting sentencing is Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s live-in personal assistant, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. Iwamasa is scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing on May 27.