A pair of New Jersey businessmen, including Baltimore Ravens special teams coach Randy Brown, have been identified as founders of Freedom Fuels Network LLC, a network of discounted gas stations.
Brown and former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik signed the certificate of formation to incorporate Freedom Fuels Network LLC on June 23, just one week before President Donald Trump promoted it on social media.
The network, which spans 25 Philadelphia-area gas stations, offered discounts of up to 50 cents per gallon around Independence Day, sparking widespread questions about its financing and ownership.
The White House declined to identify who is behind the venture, saying only that it is a private company willing to absorb losses on profit margins to help American drivers amid elevated fuel costs following the war in Iran.
Delaware corporate records show Brown, a former Republican mayor of Evesham Township, New Jersey, signed the certificate of formation, while Gontownik signed on behalf of PJA Properties LLC, identified as a member of Freedom Fuels Network.
Gontownik previously served as an investment director at Mercuria Energy, a Swiss multinational commodities trading firm, and before that spent eight years as an investment professional at GIC, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund.
A third New Jersey businessman, Shamikh Kazmi, who operates 17 gas stations in New Jersey including five within the Freedom Fuel Network, also appears linked to the venture.
Kazmi has been sued in federal court over allegedly failing to fully pay for more than $1.3 million worth of gas, and earlier announced a $60 million plan to develop a restaurant chain called Yum Grills at gas stations in the Philadelphia area.
The stations initially priced fuel at $3.47 per gallon, a nod to Trump as the 47th President, though many locations had raised prices to $3.57 per gallon by July 10, 2026, according to GasBuddy price data cited by The Hill.
Freedom Fuel Network said in a statement on its website that it is “a privately owned and proudly patriotic company” that “answered President Trump’s call to action to lower prices at the pump.”
The network also claimed its 25 stations have averaged a 50 percent increase in sales volume since lowering prices, with some stations reporting volume up by as much as 100 percent.
Brown, who has served as a Ravens special teams coach for 18 seasons, previously explored runs for governor and Congress in New Jersey and has publicly described himself as a Trump supporter.
Gontownik has hosted fundraisers for Republican lawmakers, and his father Jerry has reportedly served as chairperson of NORPAC’s Ambassadors Corps, one of the largest pro-Israel PACs in the United States.
After media outlet The Newsground contacted Gontownik for comment, a reference to his name was removed from NORPAC’s website page for an event featuring Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley held in March 2024.
Gontownik, Brown, and Mercuria did not respond to detailed questions about Freedom Fuel’s financing, ownership structure, or its relationship with the White House.
