Mansfield Oil sues KRSM over unpaid gas sold to Freedom Fuel

Mansfield Oil sues KRSM over unpaid gas sold to Freedom Fuel

Mon, August 31, 2026 at 3:40 PM GMT+3 2 min read

Mansfield Oil Company filed a federal lawsuit against businessman Syed Kazmi and his company KRSM, alleging they obtained more than 1.1 million gallons of fuel worth roughly $4 million and failed to pay for it — fuel the suit claims was partly sold to Freedom Fuel Network stations that drew national attention after President Donald Trump promoted them in July, according to CNBC.

The Georgia-based fuel supplier brought the case before the Eastern Pennsylvania federal district court on Aug. 19, with the complaint alleging that KRSM withdrew the fuel from a Pennsylvania terminal over a roughly two-month window spanning May through July. According to the complaint, Mansfield issued updated invoices to KRSM on July 17, yet the outstanding balance had still not been settled as of Aug. 17. The company's bank advised on July 28 that KRSM had refused its draft requests, according to The Hill.

The lawsuit alleges KRSM sold a portion of that fuel to stations operating under the Freedom Fuel Network. Freedom Fuel Network is not named as a defendant and faces no accusations of misconduct in the filing, which also leaves unspecified what share of the roughly $4 million in fuel ultimately reached Freedom Fuel locations. "KRSM was able to sell such fuel for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid Plaintiff for such fuel," the lawsuit states.

Court records show that a federal judge on Aug. 28 partially granted Mansfield's motion for a preliminary injunction, requiring the defendants to maintain at least $2.75 million in a bank account.

Syed Kazmi's legal representative, Mauro Tucci, pushed back on the claims. "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."

The White House said the administration has had no contact or dealings with KRSM or Syed Kazmi. A source familiar with the Freedom Fuel business told The Hill that neither KRSM nor Syed Kazmi is associated with the gas station network.

Shamikh Kazmi, Syed Kazmi's brother, runs at least six of the Freedom Fuel stations in New Jersey, The Hill reported.

When Freedom Fuel launched in early July across its 25 Pennsylvania and New Jersey stations, it priced fuel at $3.47 per gallon, a figure that undercut what competing stations in the area were charging at the time. Trump praised the network on Truth Social, urging other retailers to follow its lead. The White House called it "a patriotic company" responding to Trump's calls for lower prices. Freedom Fuel did not respond to requests for comment from both outlets.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gas stood at $4.07 as of Sunday, according to AAA data cited by The Hill. Freedom Fuel now operates 29 locations, all in New Jersey or Pennsylvania.