Two California doctors were among the five defendants charged in connection with the death of actor Matthew Perry, who died of a fatal ketamine overdose last October. Here’s what we know about the physicians.
‘Dr. P’
Salvador Plasencia, MD, of Santa Monica, who also goes by “Dr. P,” was arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine, seven counts of distribution of ketamine, and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to the investigation, according to federal prosecutors. He faces a maximum sentence of 120 years in federal prison.
Plasencia, 42, has an active medical license in the state that expires in October, with no disciplinary actions, according to the Medical Board of California’s database. He graduated from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) medical school in 2010, and his primary area of practice is family medicine, with secondary areas listed as internal medicine and pediatrics.
According to his LinkedIn page, Plasencia is an attending physician at UCLA and during the pandemic started a telehealth company, TeliMedi.
Mark Chavez
A psychiatrist in San Diego, Mark Chavez, MD, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Chavez could face up to 10 years in federal prison.
Public records on Chavez show his California medical license to be in good standing; it expires in 2026.
Chavez, 54, graduated from UCLA medical school in 2004 and completed his residency at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island, New York.
According to court documents, Chavez until July 2023 had been affiliated with Dreamscape Ketamine and Wellness in San Diego, a clinic offering 1- and 2-hour treatments of ketamine with prices of up to $800.
In his plea agreement, Chavez said he sold ketamine to Plasencia, according to prosecutors, including ketamine diverted from Dreamscape.
Chavez currently appears to operate an online business — The Health MD — which he described as focusing on health, wellness, and longevity. One of the services provided there includes weight-loss programs with GLP-1 agonists with prices ranging from $750 to $1,500.
In a LinkedIn post from 2021, Plasencia described Chavez as being “a mentor” to him for 15 years, saying the psychiatrist helped Plasencia on his path to becoming a medical entrepreneur.
What Do Prosecutors Allege?
The federal investigation into Perry’s death focused on who supplied the ketamine to the actor. At the time of his death, Perry had amounts of ketamine in his blood in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, according to his autopsy report.
When Perry, who had long struggled with drugs and alcohol, fell back into addiction in the fall of 2023, Plasencia and Chavez “took advantage to profit for themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada.
Plasencia allegedly texted of Perry during that time, “I wonder how much this moron will pay” and “Lets find out.”
Over a 2-month period starting in September 2023, the two doctors allegedly worked together to obtain and provide the ketamine to Perry’s live-in assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, who had no medical training but is charged with administering several injections to Perry on the day he died.
Plasencia and Chavez distributed approximately 20 vials of ketamine to Perry in exchange for $55,000, prosecutors said. At one point, they charged the actor $2,000 for a vial that cost Chavez approximately $12, said Anne Milgram, of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
On one occasion, Plasencia allegedly witnessed Perry’s blood pressure spike and saw the actor freeze up after being injected with ketamine, Estrada said. The physician allegedly left additional vials of ketamine for Perry’s live-in assistant to inject the actor.
“As a doctor, defendant Plasencia knew full well the danger of what he was doing,” Estrada said.
“By filing these extensive and serious charges, we are sending a clear message,” Estrada noted. “If you are in the business of selling dangerous drugs, we will hold you accountable for the deaths that you cause.”
Beyond what was diverted from his former clinic, Chavez also allegedly obtained additional ketamine from a wholesale distributor by submitting a fraudulent prescription in the name of a former patient without that patient’s knowledge or consent, according to court documents.
But the prosecutors alleged that Jasveen Sangha, whom they describe as a drug dealer known to customers as the “Ketamine Queen,” provided the doses of the drug that actually killed Perry, injected into the actor by Iwamasa with syringes supplied by Plasencia.
“As Matthew Perry’s ketamine addiction grew, he wanted more and he wanted it faster and cheaper. That is how he ended up buying from street dealers,” said Milgram.
After Perry died, Plasencia and Chavez allegedly attempted to cover up what they had done. Plasencia “falsified medical records and notes to try to make it look like what he was doing was legitimate,” Estrada said. “It was not.”
After Plasencia’s initial court appearance on Thursday, his attorney, Stefan Sacks, JD, said, “Ultimately, Dr. Plasencia was operating with what he thought were the best of medical intentions,” and his actions “certainly didn’t rise to the level of criminal misconduct.”
A request for comment sent to Chavez at his company was not immediately returned.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.