Freedom Fuel Network Expands While Facing Fines, Legal Problems, And Accusations Of Stolen Gas
Freedom Fuel gas stations are still alive and subjectively well, having continued to provide the American people with somewhat cheaper gas, which enabled the company to expand its original 17 stations to a whopping 29 by the end of August. But what looks healthy is coming off as capitalism-fueled smoke and mirrors, as operators of its gas stations have accrued over half a million dollars in unpaid environmental violations, according to The New York Times, and the Network itself now faces a lawsuit for selling $4 million worth of gas it never paid for. Don't worry about that, as the network will tell you it's just misinformation and baseless speculation.
The Times reports the lawsuit was filed in federal courts this month by Mansfield Energy against KRSM and its president, Syed Kazmi, for selling 1.1 million gallons of fuel worth $4 million without paying for it. According to the lawsuit, KRSM picked up the 1.1 million gallons of fuel from its Pennsylvania fuel supply terminal from May 21 to July 7, then went on to sell that at several of its Freedom Fuel Network gas stations, which by the end of that "pickup" period was selling it at a hefty discount. Mansfield Energy claims it hasn't received a dollar of the $4 million owed.
Yet Kazmi, and KRSM's lawyer, Mauro Tucci, told The Times that the company "disputes the allegations in this case, which is an accounting dispute over fuel invoices mis-priced by Mansfield Oil." In the lawsuit, Mansfield admitted there was a data error that delayed invoices to be distributed later (in July). When draft requests of those invoices were sent to KRSM, they were at first rejected. Phone calls later seemingly resolved the issue, and KRSM was said to have agreed to pay, but still has yet to.
Millions of dollars of unpaid problems and a lawsuit is one
Amusingly, the Times says the "lawsuit does not detail how Mr. Kazmi was connected to the Freedom Fuel Network or who owns it. A trademark application field with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in July does not name owners for the Freedom Fuel Network." But we know who owns it — they happen to be Randy Brown, current NFL assistant coach of the Baltimore Ravens, and former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik, who has been known to host some fundraisers for important GOP folks.
Syed Kazmi, along with his brother Shamikh Kazmi, are developers for Cherry Hill, which operates Blue Owl Capital. The Russian doll–like line of ownership that leads to Blue Owl Capital happens to owns six South Jersey Freedom Fuel Network stations, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. Those stations account for some $430,000 in environmental violations that the Network had accrued via the kind folks of the New Jersey Environmental Protection Agency prior to the "Freedom Fuel" sale. Several more Freedom Fuel stations have since accrued another $202,000 in fines in regulation violations in the time since.
Those violations included failure to properly register underground storage tanks, failing to provide overfill prevention for some tanks, failing to cut and cap lines that lead to out-of-service tank systems and violating delivery bans. One of the stations received four fuel deliveries in November of 2023 after being banned from doing so as it did not have a properly registered storage tank. That station received the maximum $50,000 fine. Another Freedom Fuel station in Philadelphia failed its license renewal inspection, but was able to reconcile the failure to remain open and is now in good standing.
When you don't know these people, but you really, really do
And the problems don't stop there. Since 2022, the company behind the sweet cheaper gas facade earned nearly 200 penalties prior to President Trump touting the stations on White House social accounts, according to Politico. Before this latest lawsuit was thrown atop the unpaid pile, the newer offenses included two stations that were barred from receiving gas in June for a week due to problems with tank registration, one was outright banned from accepting fuel deliveries in July, but the ban was lifted the very next day, and another station was operating without a valid air permit.
A White House spokesperson told The TImes that "The Administration has had zero contact or dealings with the defendant: KRSM Inc or Sayed Kazmi." Although technically that could be true, Politico says the president had recently admitted to buying and selling millions of dollars in Blue Owl stock (the company that owns and operates some of these Freedom Fuel Stations) in the last year and still maintains some of that stock.
Like much of how the Trump administration operates, a little bit of foul play and bad business doesn't mean you can't make any money. And who knows, if the president literally owns some of the stock connected to the company, there might be an incentive (however illegal) for everyone involved from decent attention and profits to lawsuits and violations disappearing. Because in this day and age, it would be a shame to upset the investors — especially when they supposedly own run the country.