SAN DIEGO — The Medical Board of California filed a formal complaint against the La Jolla doctor who acted as one of actor Matthew Perry's main suppliers of ketamine.
The accusation provides new details about La Jolla doctor Mark Chavez's role in supplying lethal amounts of ketamine to Perry in the weeks leading up to the actor's death in October of last year.
Chavez has pleaded guilty to contributing to Perry's death. His sentencing is scheduled for April 2025.
The Accusation
According to a newly filed complaint by the state's Medical Board, Chavez worked at a ketamine-infusion clinic called Dreamscape Ketamine in Mission Valley up until July 2023.
Chavez left the clinic, according to the Medical Board, after using a patient's name to obtain ketamine lozenges without their knowledge.
After doing so, Chavez and Dreamscape Ketamine's co-founder got into an altercation and Chavez left the clinic but not before retrieving "all prescription drugs from the clinic, including ketamine" and the fraudulently prescribed lozenges, reads the Medical Board complaint.
In September 2023, the Medical Board states Chavez received a call from a longtime colleague, Dr. Salvador Plasencia.
Plasencia told Chavez that one of his patients, "a well-known actor" would pay top-dollar for the hospital-grade sedative.
Chavez agreed to sell the lozenges he obtained through the fraudulent prescription to Plasencia for Perry.
In a text message thread, the two doctors agreed to meet in Orange County to complete the transaction.
Dr. Plasencia: "If I can get you [$2,000] would you meet me halfway?"
Dr. Chavez: "Yes."
On September 30, less than a month before Perry was found dead in his jacuzzi, Chavez and Plasencia met in Costa Mesa.
Chavez gave Plasencia four vials of liquid ketamine, the lozenges, gloves and syringes.
Plasencia delivered the ketamine to Perry, later messaging Chavez to describe the actor's condition and house as walking into "a bad movie,'" reads the text message included in the Medical Board complaint.
Despite having no experience with ketamine treatment, Perry's doctor, Plasencia, contacted Chavez a few days later about an upcoming meeting at Perry's house.
"If today goes well we may have repeat business," Plasencia wrote to Chavez.
Chavez responded, "Let's do everything to make that happen."
Chavez then got to work, contacting some of the ketamine suppliers he used while working at Dreamscape Ketamine.
On October 4, 2023, Chavez drove to Irvine with eight additional vials of ketamine.
According to the Medical Board accusation, on the following day, Chavez submitted a Drug Enforcement Agency questionnaire stating he agreed to only provide ketamine to those in "genuine need" and would not sell to other practitioners.
After obtaining 10 additional vials of the sedative, Chavez drove to Irvine again to meet up with Plasencia.
In the week following the exchange, Chavez told Plasencia the DEA was investigating him for the missing ketamine from Dreamscape and could no longer get the drug for Perry.
On October 28, 2023, Perry was given three doses of ketamine, one at 8:30 a.m., another at 12:45 p.m., followed by the lethal dose at 1:25 p.m. The actor was found dead in the jacuzzi at his Pacific Palisades home at 4:07 p.m.
That same day, Chavez messaged Plasencia and asked if Plasencia was concerned about Perry's death.
Plasencia, according to the Medical Board, said he wasn't.
Chavez faces up to 10 years in prison.
