Matthew Perry’s assistant gets 41-month sentence for central role in ketamine death

LOS ANGELES — The personal live-in assistant for “Friends” star Matthew Perry was sentenced on Wednesday to 41 months in prison for repeatedly injecting the actor with ketamine, including the fatal dose that killed him in October 2023.

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Kenneth Iwamasa, 61, of Toluca Lake, California, had pleaded guilty in August 2024 to conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence in U.S. federal court in Los Angeles, CNN reported. She also sentenced him to two years of probation and tacked on a $10,000 fine.

“You were privy to his struggle with addiction,” Garnett told Iwamasa as she handed down the sentence. “Your conduct was reckless, not just on the day of his death but leading up to his death.”

Iwamasa, who was paid $150,000 annually working for Perry, admitted that he repeatedly injected Perry with ketamine without medical training, according to the Los Angeles Times. That included multiple injections on Oct. 28, 2023, which was the day Perry died.

Iwamasa, who had known Perry since 1992, was the last of five defendants sentenced in the case, according to The New York Times. The sentence handed down for Iwamasa was what prosecutors had sought.

Perry, who had a history of drug abuse and addiction, was found dead in the hot tub of his Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 28, 2023, according to the Los Angeles Times.

He was found by Iwamasa, who was also the last person to see the actor alive, The Associated Press reported.

Prosecutors said the assistant was constantly at Perry’s side during the last days of his life, acting as the actor’s drug messenger, enabler and de facto doctor, according to the news organization.

Iwamasa was also the first defendant to cut a deal with prosecutors and became their most important witness, CNN reported.

[ Matthew Perry death: Drug counselor who gave fatal ketamine dose to actor sentenced ]

During the sentencing hearing, Ian Yanniello, an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said that Iwamasa obtained more than 70 vials of ketamine for Perry in one month.

“This case is about a breach of trust. ... Mr. Perry wanted to overcome his demons and live a sober life,” Yanniello told the court. “(Iwamasa) became Mr. Perry’s drug supplier and enabler.”

Iwamasa’s attorney, Alan Eisner, stressed that “Mr. Perry was not a bystander here” adding that the actor was “not blameless in the events that led to his own death.” He added that Iwamasa “didn’t have the spine to say no to his boss.”

“He was unable to say no.”

“Unwilling -- not unable,” Garnett told the attorney.

“You’re right, he could have said no and shame on him for not saying no,” Eisner said. “He didn’t have the strength of character to do that.”

Lisa Ferguson, Perry’s longtime business manager and the appointed executor of his estate, accused Iwamasa of wanting “control over Matthew and everything he owns,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“What you are is the monster who killed him,” Ferguson said. “Matthew deserved to live. You don’t.”

“I’m sorry to have done illegal acts that I will forever regret. I’ll take that to my grave,” Iwamasa said, turning to Perry’s family and loved ones in the first row of the courtroom, according to the newspaper. “I’m horribly, horribly sorry. And I offer my condolences to you.”

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