In a case that has captured significant public attention, the personal assistant of Matthew Perry has been sentenced for his role in the actor’s tragic demise. The assistant, who was deeply involved in Perry’s life during his final days, has been handed a prison sentence for his part in administering the fatal dose of ketamine that led to the beloved actor’s death.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett condemned Kenneth Iwamasa, aged 60, for his reckless actions, highlighting his role not only on the day of Perry’s death but also in the days leading up to it. “Your conduct was reckless,” she stated in the federal court in Los Angeles, as she sentenced him to three years and five months in prison.
Iwamasa was the last of five individuals to be sentenced in the comprehensive investigation following Perry’s untimely death on October 28, 2023. The group included several corrupt medical professionals and a notorious street dealer known as the “Ketamine Queen,” Jasveen Sangha, who received a 15-year sentence.
The Role of a Personal Assistant in Celebrity Addiction
The sentencing hearing, which lasted nearly three hours, centered around the degree of responsibility Iwamasa held as Perry’s personal assistant. Iwamasa’s attorney, Alan Eisner, argued for a lighter sentence, emphasizing his client’s loyalty and admiration for Perry. “He worshipped Mr. Perry,” Eisner told the court, suggesting a term of six-month imprisonment followed by home confinement.
Despite these arguments, Judge Garnett interrupted Eisner’s defense, stating, “Unwilling. Not unable. He could have said no,” when the lawyer suggested Iwamasa had no choice in his actions.
Letters from Perry’s family, including his mother and sisters, expressed profound disappointment in Iwamasa, whom they had trusted to support Perry’s sobriety. Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, articulated the family’s sense of betrayal, noting Iwamasa’s option to refuse involvement in Perry’s addiction.
A Trusted Confidant or a Dangerous Enabler?
Lisa Ferguson, Perry’s business manager and now estate executor, portrayed Iwamasa as someone who exploited Perry’s addiction for his own gain. She accused him of removing supportive individuals from Perry’s life to consolidate his own power.
“What you are is the monster that killed him,” Ferguson asserted during the hearing, describing Iwamasa’s lack of guilt or remorse since Perry’s death. Iwamasa expressed his regret directly to Perry’s family, offering his apologies and acknowledging his illegal actions.
From Trusted Assistant to Key Informant
After Perry hired him in 2022 with an annual salary of $150,000, Iwamasa became entangled in the criminal investigation that followed Perry’s death. Initially, he misled the police and destroyed evidence related to ketamine. However, after a search warrant was executed in January 2024, Iwamasa began cooperating, eventually pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death by August of the same year.
Outside the courthouse, Iwamasa’s lawyer continued to argue that the sentence did not accurately reflect the dynamics between Perry and Iwamasa. “One person had the power. One person had no power,” he stated.
Despite the resolution in court, Morrison noted the lasting impact on Perry’s family, stating, “It doesn’t change the fact that we’ve lost him, that he’s dead, and that my wife is broken.”
The court sentenced Iwamasa to a $10,000 fine, two years of probation, and ordered him to begin his prison term on July 17. Judge Garnett acknowledged Iwamasa’s financial dependence on Perry but found no malicious intent. However, she emphasized that Iwamasa did not abuse a position of trust in the legal sense.
Matthew Perry rose to fame as part of the cast of “Friends,” an iconic NBC sitcom that aired from 1994 to 2004.
