Years prior to being labeled a “Ketamine Queen” and charged by federal authorities with providing the drugs that murdered Matthew Perry, the star of “Friends,” Jasveen Sangha placed an intriguing comment in her high school yearbook from the Los Angeles region.
The remark that reads, “It’s not what they say about you, it’s what they whisper,” appears next to Sangha’s picture in the 2001 yearbook for Calabasas High School. “Each of us has a single wing, and the only way for us to fly is to embrace one another.”
The yearbook failed to mention that Italian actor and director Luciano De Crescenzo is credited with the second half of the remark, which is given to him. The initial part of the quote was attributed to Hollywood legend Errol Flynn.
However, since then, the rumors surrounding the now 41-year-old alleged drug dealer have become louder.
Sangha was one of five persons charged on Thursday in relation to the death of 54-year-old Perry, who on October 28, 2023, was discovered face down in the heated end of a pool at his Pacific Palisades home.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office reports that a ketamine overdose that was unintentional caused his death. The use of hallucinogens as an off-label treatment for depression has increased recently, but experts warn that these drugs can be addictive and should only be used under strict supervision. The psychedelic anesthetic has gained popularity as a party drug as well.
Sangha faces five counts of ketamine distribution, one count of possession with a purpose to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute ketamine, one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, and one count of keeping a drug-involved premises.
North Hollywood resident Sangha entered a not-guilty plea on Thursday; nevertheless, the judge ordered her to be detained without bond because she posed a flight risk.
During her court appearance, Sangha looked far from the glamorous, jet-setting persona she maintains on Instagram as well as other social media platforms, where she has posted about vacationing in sun-kissed resort cities such as Playa del Carmen, Mexico. She was wearing large, round glasses and a baggy, bright green Nirvana T-shirt.
Records indicate that Sangha was employed as the “chief financial officer” of the Stiletto Nail Bar, a Studio City salon, until its closure.
Sangha’s attorney, Mark Geragos, stated that he believes the charges brought against her and the other defendants were excessive.
“It’s not criminal just because it’s a tragedy,” Geragos stated on NewsNation’s “Cuomo” program on Thursday. “I simply don’t see it as a criminal case.”
He went on, “I get that people want to hold people accountable.” However, I believe it will be extremely difficult for them to hold people accountable.
Two of the five persons accused in relation to Perry’s demise have entered not-guilty pleas, while the other three—including the actor’s personal assistant—have either entered guilty pleas or agreed to enter guilty pleas.
Prior drug offense
Sangha was detained in March in connection with an unrelated federal narcotics case, whereby she was charged with being “a large volume drug dealer.” She was being held on a $100,000 bail when she was taken into custody on Thursday and charged in Perry’s killing, according to court documents.
Sangha appeared to glance back at someone in the gallery after glancing directly at the media covering the proceedings in the courthouse before being escorted to the Metropolitan Detention Center. It was unclear right away who that someone was.
Prosecutors assert that it is evident that Sangha might spend a maximum of 10 years of life in federal prison in the event that she is found guilty of all charges in the Perry case.
In the federal charge, prosecutors described how they believe Sangha became involved in one of the most well-known celebrity drug overdose deaths in recent memory.
Federal officials claim that in October 2023, Sangha was the first person that Perry’s friend Eric Fleming—who has admitted guilt to drug crimes related to the actor’s death—contacted when he needed more ketamine.
Federal prosecutors claimed that over the course of two weeks, Sangha reportedly sold Perry’s go-between roughly fifteen ketamine vials for roughly $11,000 in cash.
Prosecutors alleged that after Perry passed away, Sangha texted Fleming, saying, “Delete all our messages.”
Then, almost two weeks following the celebrity’s passing, Sangha uploaded a highlight reel of her time spent in Tokyo on Instagram.
Sangha, a dual citizen, grew up in the United States but was born in Britain.
Following high school, she attended the University of California, Irvine, where, according to a university spokesman, she graduated in 2005 with a degree in social sciences and started working at Merrill Lynch.
Five years later, in 2010, Sangha received her MBA at the Hult International Business School in London, according to a representative from the institution.
It becomes more difficult to find out the specifics of Sangha’s life after that.
Living in an “emporium for the sale of drugs”
However, according to federal authorities, Sangha had been converting her house into a “stash house” and selling ketamine and other drugs “since at least 2019.”
Investigators discovered “evidence of drug trafficking” in Perry’s home after her death, including 3.1 pounds of “orange pills” and 79 vials of ketamine that contained “Cocaine, methamphetamine, psilocybin mushrooms, and prescription medications that seemed to have been obtained dishonestly,” according to court documents.
According to US Attorney Martin Estrada, they discovered “what amounted to a drug-selling emporium” on Thursday.
Additionally, according to Estrada, Sangha’s phone included video files that were linked to drug trafficking. One of the videos featured a voice he recognized as Sangha’s describing “cooking” ketamine in a saucepan on the stove to turn it into a powder.
Authorities claim that she was aware that ketamine might be fatal.
Prosecutors claimed that in August 2019, an Alaskan man overdosed on ketamine that Sangha had allegedly given him. Later, she received a text from one of his family members. They wrote, “My brother was killed by the ketamine you sold him.” “It is stated as the reason for the demise.”
Prosecutors claim that Sangha then typed into Google, asking whether ketamine could be reported as a cause of death.