A federal judge handed down a 41-month prison term to Kenneth Iwamasa, the last person sentenced in connection with Friends actor Matthew Perry's ketamine-related death in October 2023.

Perry's Final Companion Faces Justice

Kenneth Iwamasa, the personal assistant and live-in caretaker of Friends star Matthew Perry, was sentenced to three years and five months in federal prison this week for his role in the actor's fatal ketamine overdose. The sentencing brings to a close a sprawling criminal case that implicated five individuals — including licensed physicians and a drug supplier — in one of Hollywood's most high-profile celebrity deaths in recent years.

Pronouncing sentence, the judge did not mince words. "Your actions were reckless," he told Iwamasa in court, underscoring that the 62-year-old had not acted out of ignorance but with full knowledge of the risks involved.

Last of Five to Be Sentenced

Iwamasa was the last defendant to be sentenced in connection with Perry's death, which occurred on October 28, 2023. The actor was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi at his Los Angeles home — and it was Iwamasa himself who discovered the body. The others convicted in the case included two doctors who supplied ketamine and a drug dealer who facilitated access to the substance.

Having lived with Perry as his full-time assistant since 2022, Iwamasa was, by most accounts, the actor's closest daily companion in his final months.

Injections, Awareness, and a Betrayal of Trust

Court documents and prosecutor submissions painted a damning picture of Iwamasa's conduct in the days leading up to Perry's death. According to federal prosecutors, Iwamasa administered at least 27 ketamine injections to Perry in the period immediately before his death — including at least three on the day he died.

Prosecutors emphasised that Iwamasa had been explicitly informed by a physician of Perry's severe addiction and the medical dangers of continued ketamine use. He had also, on prior occasions, witnessed Perry fall unconscious and become unresponsive following injections. Despite this, he continued.

In 2024, Iwamasa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine. Alongside the 41-month prison sentence, he was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine and will serve two years of supervised probation upon release.

Family Condemns the 'Betrayal'

Perry's family, present at the sentencing, did not hold back. His stepfather, veteran journalist Keith Morrison, acknowledged the complex power dynamic between a celebrity and a dependent employee but was firm: Iwamasa still had a choice, and he made the wrong one.

Lisa Ferguson, Perry's business manager, went further. She alleged that Iwamasa had deliberately isolated Perry from sober companions and medical professionals over time — not out of loyalty, but to consolidate his own influence over the actor. "He exploited Matthew's addiction for personal gain," Ferguson stated, according to sources present in the courtroom.

Iwamasa's defence counsel argued for leniency, contending that the assistant had simply been trying to keep his employer happy — a framing the judge appeared to reject in tone, if not entirely in measure. The sentence largely matched what federal prosecutors had sought.

Iwamasa did offer an apology to Perry's family during the proceedings.

A Loss That Reignited Difficult Conversations

Matthew Perry, 54, had been candid for years about his battles with alcohol and prescription drug addiction — a struggle he detailed extensively in his 2022 memoir. His death drew an enormous outpouring of grief from fans worldwide and cast fresh attention on the vulnerabilities of those in recovery, and on the people closest to them.

The case has raised uncomfortable questions about the thin line between loyalty and enablement, and what accountability looks like for those who stand by — or actively assist — while someone they know descends deeper into addiction.

With Iwamasa's sentencing now complete, the legal chapter of Matthew Perry's story is closed. The broader conversation it has reopened, however, is far from over.