Trump-Promoted Gas Stations Accused of Selling Stolen Fuel

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Gas stations promoted by President Donald Trump for their low prices were allegedly supplied with fuel from a $4 million haul that was never paid for, Politico reported Friday.

The article centers on a lawsuit that was filed Aug. 19 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Georgia-based fuel supplier Mansfield Oil Co. against KRSM Inc., a company run by Syed Kazmi. Mansfield alleged KRSM took more than 1 million gallons of fuel from a Sunoco terminal in Twin Oaks without paying for it, then sold some of that fuel to stations in the Freedom Fuel Network.

“KRSM was able to sell such fuel for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid Plaintiffs for such fuel,” the complaint alleged.

As Politico noted, Freedom Fuel made headlines ahead of this year’s Fourth of July when Trump celebrated the network for selling gas at prices well below its competitors.

“They are doing this because they love the U.S.A.,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on July 1.

Screenshot via @realDonaldTrump on Truth Social

The White House later shared a video on YouTube of customers at one Freedom Fuel station thanking Trump as they filled up for $3.47 per gallon, a price set in recognition of Trump being the 47th president.

At the time, the White House said Freedom Fuel was a private company willing to accept smaller profit margins to offer cheaper gas. Politico later reported that former New Jersey mayor Randy Brown, who now works as a special teams coach for the Baltimore Ravens, was one of the people involved.

The outlet also connected six Freedom Fuel locations through business records to Shamikh Kazmi, Syed Kazmi’s brother. Freedom Fuel now says it operates 29 locations.

KRSM denied the allegations to Politico, calling the lawsuit “an accounting dispute over fuel invoices misplaced by Mansfield Oil” and saying it would not comment further because of the pending litigation.

Yet Mansfield attorney Urs Broderick Furrer pushed back on that explanation.

“KRSM has failed to pay for fuel that they lifted off of Mansfield’s account. That is not an accounting dispute,” Furrer told the outlet, adding that the fuel was delivered to at least 10 Freedom Fuel locations.

A White House official told Politico that “the Administration has had zero contact or dealings with the defendant: KRSM Inc or Sayed Kazmi.”

A source familiar with Freedom Fuel likewise added, “KRSM Inc and Sayed Kazmi are not associated with the Freedom Fuel Network in any capacity.”

Companies connected to the Kazmis have faced similar lawsuits before, the outlet revealed. 7-Eleven won a case against KRSM in 2024 after accusing the company of taking tens of thousands of dollars in cigarettes, and a federal judge ruled this year in favor of a fuel distributor that accused a Shamikh Kazmi company of taking roughly $667,000 worth of fuel without paying for it in full.

As CNN’s Harry Enten noted earlier this month, Trump’s disapproval rating on gas prices climbed to 79%, which he said was the highest on record.

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