The New York City government has expanded its lawsuit against pharmaceutical distributors over the opioid epidemic that has impacted communities across the U.S. to include members of the Sackler family, which owns Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin and a group of major retailers.

The city alleges that the Sacklers knew about the risks of OxyContin no later than the summer of 1999 after a Purdue sales representative reported widespread use of the drug, but that members of the family took part in a conspiracy to downplay the risks associated with the drug that included the use of self-destructing emails.