A special teams coach for the Baltimore Ravens and a former executive of a multinational commodities trading firm are behind the effort to start up a mysterious network of pro-Donald Trump, East Coast gas stations selling fuel at below-market rates.
The pair were unmasked in business documents filed with the state of Delaware, where the company was incorporated last month.
Randy Brown, the Ravens coach who was the former Republican mayor of Evesham Township, New Jersey, and Yoni Gontownik, the former investment director of commodity trading company Mercuria, signed a certificate of formation for Freedom Fuel on June 23. The independent investigative publication The Newsground first reported the document.
Freedom Fuel did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Brown and Gontownik’s involvement.
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The first Freedom Fuel gas station popped up earlier this month in Pennsylvania with heavy promotion from the Trump administration. In a video shared by the White House, drivers thanked the president by name for the cheap gasoline, though a White House official later told NOTUS that Freedom Fuel was a private company with no affiliation with the federal government.
It was not immediately apparent who was behind the effort. Trump, in a post on Truth Social lauding the effort, referred to the proprietor as “the retailer.”
Delaware state records revealed that the company was incorporated on June 23. A trademark application for the company was subsequently filed on July 1. Both documents were linked to an address in Wilmington, Delaware, for the Corporation Trust Center, a registered-agent center that receives legal and tax correspondences for thousands of businesses, including several owned by Trump.
Brown left his post as Evesham Township mayor in 2018 after three terms but remained involved in national politics. He told the New Jersey Globe in 2021 that he was looking for the right candidate to oust former Rep. Andy Kim, who’s now New Jersey’s junior senator. Gontownik and his wife have also fundraised for conservative politicians in New Jersey through the pro-Israel political action committee NORPAC, Politico reported.
Freedom Fuel said in a statement posted to its sparse, newly created website that all 25 of its stations have “experienced explosive growth” thanks to its low prices on gas. The growth accounted for “an average volume increase of more than 50 percent, with several locations surging over 100 percent,” the statement said.
“Despite the misinformation and baseless speculation circulating, let us set the record straight: Freedom Fuel Network is proudly lowering its prices to benefit our community and strengthen our local economy,” the statement read. “Just like the President, we remain committed to putting America First!”
While it was initially selling gas for $3.47 a gallon in honor of the 47th president, Freedom Fuel’s prices have now increased by 20 cents.
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