A chain of gas stations that had its prices hyped up by President Donald Trump sold fuel that was allegedly stolen by its distributor, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this month.
The 179-page lawsuit filed by Georgia-based petroleum distributor Mansfield Energy alleges that New Jersey-based KRSM took more than 1.1 million gallons of gas (about $4 million worth) from a terminal between May and July before later selling some of it to stations that were part of the Freedom Fuel Network.
The stations with the Freedom Fuel Network, a retailer tied to Baltimore Ravens senior special teams coach and self-described “proud Trump supporter” Randy Brown, then “sold such fuel for significantly less than its competitors in order to garner media attention,” the suit states.
And KRSM, the lawsuit notes, was able to provide it “for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid” Mansfield Energy for the fuel.
Lawyers representing KRSM and its president, Syed Kazmi, have denied the allegations in the lawsuit, calling it an “accounting dispute over fuel invoices mis-priced” by Mansfield Oil.
A White House spokesperson, in a statement to The New York Times, said the administration has had “zero contact or dealings” with KRSM.
Kazmi and his brother, Shamikh Kazmi, are linked to eight of the now 29 Philadelphia area stations under the Freedom Fuel Network moniker, per The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The two have been wrapped up in a series of legal cases involving alleged financial misconduct and fraud over the years, as detailed by Politico.
Matt Rourke/Associated Press
The lawsuit comes nearly two months since Trump praised the Freedom Fuel Network as a “VERY smart retailer” on social media, adding that the stations were taking the lead on lowering gas prices “because they love the U.S.A.”
The White House also promoted the chain on social media, claiming that one station in Dresher, Pennsylvania, was lowering prices to $3.47 a gallon to honor the 47th president.
The administration’s glowing reviews of the Freedom Fuel Network led critics to speculate that the stations were getting subsidies or other forms of financial support from the federal government considering their prices.
A White House spokesperson told The Philadelphia Inquirer last month that the chain was simply a private company making gas more affordable.