Freedom Fuel, an upstart chain of gas stations operating in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that President Donald Trump has praised for offering below-market gas prices, allegedly received fuel that had not been paid for, according to court documents. The Mansfield Oil Company of Gainesville, Georgia, filed a lawsuit on August 19 in the U.S. District Court in eastern Pennsylvania, alleging that KRSM, the company that bought fuel to be sold at Freedom Fuel stations, did not pay for $4 million worth of gasoline purchased last month.
An attorney for KRSM has denied the claim, describing the situation as "an accounting dispute." The lawsuit could offer an answer to a question that had left many puzzled: How was Freedom Fuel able to sell gas below market prices when fuel has become significantly more expensive across the country since the Iran war began? Freedom Fuel itself appears to have struggled with this dilemma. Since last month, it has abandoned the prices that had received national attention.
According to data tracking from GasBuddy, Freedom Fuel stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania did not boast the cheapest gas in either state as of Tuesday morning. Freedom Fuel is a relatively new, privately owned network of gas stations operating in two states: New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The company initially launched with 25 stations, five in New Jersey and 20 in Pennsylvania.
It has since added two in New Jersey and two in Pennsylvania, according to its website, for a total of 29. The company received Trump's backing early on, with the president announcing the launch of its first stations on his social media platform, Truth Social. On July 2, ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary, Trump wrote, "A VERY smart Retailer, located throughout the Northeast, is stepping up, and wishing the People of Philadelphia a 'Happy Birthday!'" The president said the retailer was "taking the lead" in offering lower gas prices "because they love the USA," adding that others "should follow." A few days later, the White House wrote on X that the first Freedom Fuel gas station had opened in Philadelphia, "lowering the price at the pump to $3.47 for our 47th President." By comparison, the average regular gas price as of July 7, when the administration wrote the post, was $3.79 per gallon nationwide and $3.91 per gallon in Philadelphia, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA).
In Pennsylvania, the statewide average was $3.97 per gallon on the same day. Despite its support for the company, the Trump administration has confirmed it is not involved in the Freedom Fuel network nor has it given the company any funding. The Freedom Fuel network has been found to be controlled by companies linked to brothers Shamikh and Syed Kazmi, who have been dogged by legal issues, and two others.
Politico and the Newsground reported that the documents forming the company in June were signed by Randy Brown and Yoni Gontownik, a senior special teams coach with the Baltimore Ravens and a former investment director at Mercuria, a Swiss-owned commodities trading firm, respectively. Newsweek contacted the White House for comment by email on Tuesday morning. The lawsuit says the company that purchased fuel to be sold at Freedom Fuel stations did not pay supplier Mansfield Oil Company for it.
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