Supplier sues Freedom Fuel network over unpaid fuel worth $4 million

Mansfield Oil Company of Gainesville filed a federal lawsuit claiming that New Jersey businessman Syed Kazmi and his firm KRSM obtained over a million gallons of fuel – valued at nearly $4 million – from a Pennsylvania terminal between late May and early July but never paid for it. The fuel was reportedly delivered to at least ten stations that were part of the Freedom Fuel Network, a chain that lowered prices to $3.47 per gallon in July after President Donald Trump highlighted the discount.

"KRSM was able to sell such fuel for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid Plaintiff for such fuel," the complaint states.

Kazmi’s attorney, Paul Toner, denied the allegations, describing the case as a dispute over invoicing that he said was mis-priced by Mansfield. A White House official said the administration had no contact with Kazmi or KRSM.

The Freedom Fuel Network was incorporated on June 25 by Randy Brown, a Baltimore Ravens special-teams coach and self-identified Trump supporter, and investor Yoni Gontownik. The network launched with 25 stations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, offering prices about 40 cents below the market rate at the time. Trump praised the initiative on his social platform, urging other retailers to follow suit.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Aug. 19, does not name the network or its stations as defendants and does not detail how much of the disputed fuel was sold through Freedom Fuel locations. Public records show that Kazmi’s brother, Shamikh Kazmi, is listed as the facility operator for several of the stations.

Mansfield alleges KRSM took roughly 150 loads of fuel from its Twin Oaks terminal under a commercial credit agreement that required later payment. When Mansfield attempted to collect on July 27, the supplier says KRSM refused to release funds. Kazmi later promised payment in multiple phone calls, but later filed a declaration disputing the amounts owed, citing alleged invoice discrepancies.

A district judge ordered Kazmi and KRSM to keep at least $2.75 million in a bank account pending resolution of the case. The lawsuit adds to a series of legal actions against the Kazmi brothers, who have faced more than a dozen suits alleging financial misconduct, including a 2021 judgment for $667,000 in stolen fuel.