The Freedom Fuel Network, the discount gas station chain promoted by President Donald Trump, has opened its first location outside New Jersey and Pennsylvania — a Detroit station selling regular unleaded at $3.47 a gallon, the lowest price in Michigan, according to GasBuddy. The move comes as a Georgia fuel supplier escalates allegations in federal court that a key financial account tied to the chain’s fuel supply is underfunded.
The Harper Avenue station marks Freedom Fuel’s entry into Michigan, where the average gallon costs $4.09, GasBuddy data shows. The network now operates 29 stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania plus the new Detroit outlet. In those two states, however, Freedom Fuel stations are no longer the cheapest option, according to GasBuddy.
The expansion unfolds against a backdrop of litigation. Mansfield Oil Co. of Gainesville filed a lawsuit Aug. 19 alleging that Syed Kazmi and his company KRSM obtained more than 1.1 million gallons of Mansfield fuel from a Pennsylvania terminal between May and July, then failed to pay an invoice of roughly $4 million. The suit claims at least some of that fuel went to Freedom Fuel stations, which began operating in early July. The complaint does not specify how much of Mansfield’s fuel reached those stations.
In a court filing this week, Mansfield alleged that KRSM is violating a judge’s Aug. 28 order requiring it to keep at least $2.75 million in an M&T Bank checking account while the case proceeds. A new filing Thursday said the account is underfunded by about $2.25 million. Mansfield also said M&T informed it that the account, which KRSM had represented it owned, “now belongs to some different Kazmi-related entity named ‘Universal.'”
“The revelation that the account is now owned by ‘Universal’ also raises serious concerns that funds are being dissipated while KRSM fails to maintain the $2.75 million amount Ordered by the Court,” Mansfield said in the filing.
Freedom Fuel is not a defendant in the lawsuit. The chain’s discounts have drawn scrutiny amid supply constraints and higher fuel prices tied to the Iran war, with questions raised about how such low prices could be sustained.
In its complaint, Mansfield asserted: “KRSM was able to sell such fuel for such low prices and garner such publicity because it never paid Plaintiff for such fuel.”
Politico has reported that Shamikh Kazmi, Syed Kazmi’s brother, owns at least six Freedom Fuel locations in New Jersey.
CNBC requested comment from lawyers for KRSM, Syed Kazmi, Mansfield Oil and the Freedom Fuel Network. KRSM lawyer Mauro Tucci told CNBC on Aug. 30 that “KRSM disputes the allegations in this case, which is an accounting dispute over fuel invoices mis-priced by Mansfield Oil,” and declined further comment.
Freedom Fuel announced the Detroit station on its website Thursday, saying, “Due to the massive success of the network and the savings communities are seeing at the pump, we heard you — and we’re expanding further.” The site also noted the “overwhelming wave of media interest” following Trump’s July 1 endorsement, while dismissing “misinformation and baseless speculation circulating.”
“Just like the President, we remain committed to putting America First! God bless the U.S.A.,” the site said.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/03/freedom-fuel-trump-lawsuit-detroit.html
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