The 25-location Northeast gas chain promoted by the White House includes sites linked to Shamikh and Syed Kazmi, while experts say its $3.47-a-gallon launch pricing was likely sold at a loss.
Freedom Fuel Network, a 25-location convenience-store and gasoline chain promoted by President Donald Trump and the White House, is tied through public records to a group of businessmen that includes Randy Brown, Yoni Gontownik, and brothers Shamikh and Syed Kazmi. The chain launched last month and advertised gasoline at $3.47 per gallon, a price Trump praised on Truth Social on July 1 ahead of the July 4 travel period, when higher oil prices linked to the war with Iran were pressuring consumers. The White House said Trump had no personal connection to the venture and that the administration provided no funding or subsidy, though it acknowledged discussions with people who set up the network. Records show the Dresher, Pennsylvania, station highlighted by the White House is owned by a subsidiary of Blue Owl Capital, which owns about a third of Freedom Fuel properties and said it leases stores to independent contractors rather than managing operations. Fourteen of the chain’s locations are controlled by companies linked to the Kazmi brothers, who have faced multiple civil accusations and judgments. In February, a federal judge in New Jersey ordered them to pay more than $600,000 to a fuel supplier that alleged they unlawfully took more than 230,000 gallons of fuel over 10 days in August 2021. Syed Kazmi was also hit with a $380,000 judgment in a 7-Eleven franchise dispute, and a company run by Shamikh Kazmi was held in contempt in 2022 in a BP America trademark case. Delaware incorporation records show Freedom Fuel Network was registered on June 23 with signatures from Brown and Gontownik. Brown has been reported as a senior special teams coach with the Baltimore Ravens and mayor of Evesham Township, while Gontownik is a former investment director at Mercuria and has been active with NORPAC. Industry experts said the promotional gasoline pricing was likely below cost, and market data showed prices at some Freedom Fuel sites had already started rising this week, including to $3.82 a gallon at a Bensalem, Pennsylvania, station.