On October 28th, 2023, beloved FRIENDS actor Matthew Perry passed away in what was first concluded to be a drowning incident at his home. In recent months however, investigation into Perry’s death has unearthed a “broad underground criminal network” that illegally sourced lethal amounts of ketamine to the actor for personal financial gain—a network that includes La Jolla doctor Mark Chavez.

Under his plea agreement with prosecutors, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to Perry using a fraudulent prescription. According to the indictment, which reads “I wonder how much this moron will pay,” Chavez and Salvador Plasencia, another medical doctor, discussed how much to charge Perry for the drug he wanted to use to treat his depression and anxiety. These doctors would ultimately sell 20 vials of ketamine to Perry for $55,000—with a single vial which cost Chavez only $12 being sold to Perry for $2,000.

Senior James Fricovsky says “these doctors were exploiting Perry’s addiction issues for personal gain. It’s something out of a horror movie—doctors are some of the people we trust the most.”

Chavez has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue all parties involved in the case—including Plasencia and Jasveen Sangha, a woman who authorities claim dealt the actor the lethal dose of ketamine. Both Kenneth Iwamasa, Perry’s assistant, who admitted to helping Perry improperly inject ketamine, and Eric Fleming, an acquaintance of Perry, who admitted to acting as a drug messenger are also assisting the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Junior Anabel Weinstein says “celebrity or not, the fact is that these doctors cared more about profiting off of Perry—someone who used his platform to raise awareness for addiction issues—than actually helping him, and that is the most heartbreaking part of it all.”