Erik Fleming, a 56-year-old drug counsellor, sourced the surgical anaesthetic ketamine from a Los Angeles woman known as the ‘Ketamine Queen’ and supplied it to Perry. Fleming pleaded guilty in August 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

A federal judge sentenced Fleming to two years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $200 penalty. Prosecutors had requested a two-and-a-half-year sentence, while Fleming’s defence team had sought a lesser sentence of three months in prison and nine months in a residential drug treatment facility.

Fleming expressed remorse in court, stating, ‘It’s truly a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’m haunted by the mistakes I made.’ In a sentencing memo filed before his court appearance, his lawyers said he has gone ‘to extreme lengths to atone for his criminal conduct.’

Statements and Apologies

In a letter to the judge in April, Fleming wrote, ‘I made the biggest mistake of my life, and I am so deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused.’ He also said he was ‘overwhelmed with grief and shame’ when he found out Perry had died, adding that he procured ketamine for the actor because he wanted money and thought he was doing a favour for a friend.

Fleming apologised for his ‘inexcusable behavior’ and wrote that he takes full responsibility for his criminal acts. ‘I hope my sentence provides some measure of justice and peace for everyone who loved Matt,’ he wrote.

Broader Legal Context

Fleming is one of five individuals, including medical doctors and the actor’s assistant, who US officials say supplied ketamine to Perry and exploited his drug addiction for profit, leading to his overdose death. The drug addiction counsellor is the fourth to be sentenced in the years-long legal saga, with each having pleaded guilty in the federal case.

Last month, Jasveen Sangha, 42, the dealer known as the ‘Ketamine Queen’, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling drugs that led to the actor’s death. Dr Salvador Plasencia, who also supplied the actor with ketamine in the weeks before his death, was sentenced in December to 30 months in prison.

Dr Mark Chavez, a California doctor who sold the ketamine to Perry, was also sentenced in December, to eight months of home detention and three years of supervised release. Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s personal live-in assistant who was accused of injecting the actor with ketamine, is scheduled to be sentenced on 27 May after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death.

Perry was found dead in his backyard jacuzzi in southern California in October 2023. His death was determined to have been caused by the acute effects of ketamine.