(CNN) The New Jersey attorney general's office filed a lawsuit against members of the billionaire family behind pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, alleging that the company's marketing strategies overstated the benefits of their opioid drugs while also minimizing the health risks and downplaying their potential for addiction.

The suit was filed on Thursday in Essex County Superior Court and names eight members of the Sackler family, which include former chairman and president Richard Sackler. The others are Jonathan D. Sackler; Dr. Kathe Sackler; Ilene Sackler Lefcourt; Mortimer D.A. Sackler; Beverly Sackler; Theresa Sackler; and David A. Sackler.

The suit includes three counts of violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and one count of violating the state's False Claims Act.

The complaint accuses the Sacklers of marketing their opioids as rarely addictive, encouraging doctors to prescribe the drugs without the proper testing and targeting groups like the elderly.

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