ALBANY – New York state, Massachusetts and Maryland are suing Volkswagen and its affiliates Audi and Porsche over diesel emissions cheating, alleging that the German automakers defrauded customers and violated state environmental laws by selling diesel vehicles equipped with software allowing them to cheat emissions testing.

The lawsuits, announced Tuesday, allege that Volkswagen and its affiliates sold tens of thousands of vehicles with so-called “defeat devices” installed.