Kelsey Grammer Caught Up In Ponzi Scheme Lawsuit

For all the respect he's rightfully earned as an actor, it often just doesn't pay being Kelsey Grammar.

There's the many years he's spent combatting substance abuse issues.

There's his travails getting married and staying that way. And now, RadarOnline reports, the former "Cheers," "Frasier" and "Back To You" star is suing to regain roughly $200,000 internet-based scammers bilked from him.

Grammar's Aug. 15 Los Angeles County lawsuit filing alleges 27 counts in which website Staropoly.com defrauded him through a Ponzi scheme and using his name and likeness without his consent.

The 27 alleged grievances include credit card fraud, extortion and grand theft. The Staropoly.com parent website, TODHD, is already under FBI investigation. Staropoly.com - yes, the website is still open - bills itself as "the first monetized social media network in the world connecting you to the stars and celebrities," contrasting itself with Facebook and Twitter.

Grammer admittedly initially helped promote the site, but hired an attorney immediately after learning the site was not legitimate and had taken him for large sums of money.

His attorney claims "“He told them consistently, ‘You have no right to use my name,'" and that the site was "an illegal pyramid scheme operation in order to commit credit card fraud, with no monetary return to its associates.”

Former "Too Close For Comfort" actress Lydia Cornell has also joined the suit that seeks over $100 million total for affected parties, also claiming that she received no return whatsoever.