A federal lawsuit against the businessman behind the Freedom Fuel Network alleges that nearly $4 million worth of fuel was never paid for, raising questions about how the chain managed to sell petrol at steeply discounted prices that drew praise from President Donald Trump. The Freedom Fuel Network lawsuit, filed on 19 August by Georgia-based Mansfield Oil, names Syed Kazmi and his company KRSM as defendants.
The chain made headlines in early July when Trump used its discounted fuel promotion as evidence that American consumers would soon see ‘record low prices’ at the pump. At 25 stations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Freedom Fuel sold petrol at $3.47 a gallon, a nod to Trump’s status as the 47th president and a clear cut below prices at nearby stations.
‘On July 3rd, the Freedom Fuel Network will be lowering gas prices at 25 “FREEDOM FUEL” Stations across the Greater Philadelphia Area,’ Trump posted on Truth Social on 1 July. ‘This Retailer is taking the lead, and others should follow. They are doing this because they love the U.S.A.’
What the Freedom Fuel Network lawsuit actually claims
Mansfield alleges that KRSM obtained fuel from a supply terminal in Pennsylvania and then sold a portion of it to Freedom Fuel stations without ever settling the invoice. According to Fox Business, KRSM collected approximately 150 loads of fuel from its account at the Twin Oaks terminal in Pennsylvania between 21 May and 7 July, totalling roughly 1,124,594 gallons valued at $3,998,868.46. The supply agreement called for payment by electronic funds transfer within ten days of receiving an invoice, but when Mansfield sent the bill in July, it went unpaid.
The suit puts the case bluntly: ‘KRSM was able to sell such fuel for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid Plaintiff for such fuel.’
The Freedom Fuel Network is not named as a defendant, and the lawsuit does not accuse the company of wrongdoing. It also does not specify how much of the unpaid fuel reached Freedom Fuel stations, or whether those stations had any direct relationship with KRSM or Kazmi.
On 28 August, the judge overseeing the case partially granted Mansfield’s request for a preliminary injunction, ordering the defendants to maintain a bank account balance of at least $2.75 million.
Prior legal proceedings against the Kazmi brothers
The lawsuit is not the first time the Kazmi brothers have faced legal action over fuel payments. According to NBC10 Philadelphia, a federal judge in New Jersey ordered Syed Kazmi and his brother Shamikh Kazmi, in February, to pay over $600,000 to a fuel supplier that had accused the brothers of stealing gas. That earlier judgment adds context to the current case, which Mansfield is now pursuing in federal court.
At least six Freedom Fuel locations in New Jersey are managed by Shamikh Kazmi, according to Politico. KRSM, Inc. is registered as a foreign corporation with a principal business address in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
KRSM’s legal representative, Mauro Tucci, pushed back on Mansfield’s characterisation of events. ‘KRSM disputes the allegations in this case, which is an accounting dispute over fuel invoices mis-priced by Mansfield Oil,’ Tucci said in an email to CNBC. ‘We will not be commenting further on this pending litigation.’
White House officials told CNBC the administration has had no contact or dealings with the defendants. Freedom Fuel Network did not respond to a request for comment.
The case now turns on whether the court accepts Mansfield’s account of the unpaid invoices or KRSM’s contention that the pricing was in error from the outset. With the $2.75 million account-balance order already in place, the next procedural steps in the federal proceedings will determine what, if anything, Kazmi and KRSM must pay back.
