By Mike Spector 

New Jersey's acting attorney general sued Volkswagen AG over an emissions-cheating crisis linked to millions of vehicles, adding to mounting legal woes for the German car maker.

John Hoffman, the state's acting attorney general, on Friday alleged Volkswagen violated state environmental and consumer fraud laws when selling more than 17,000 diesel-powered vehicles with software capable of duping government emissions tests.

The misconduct "perpetrated a massive fraud upon consumers" and Volkswagen "profited greatly from its misconduct" in selling the vehicles, the lawsuit alleges.

Mr. Hoffman sued Volkswagen and the company's Audi and Porsche luxury brands in state court, seeking financial penalties.

"Our lawsuit alleges that Volkswagen put profit ahead of honesty, integrity, fair business practices and--most disturbing of all--the well-being of people living and breathing the air here in New Jersey and across the country," Mr. Hoffman said in a news release.

A Volkswagen spokeswoman said the company's top priority remains figuring out how to fix affected vehicles in cooperation with regulators.

Write to Mike Spector at mike.spector@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 05, 2016 15:52 ET (20:52 GMT)