Young filed his defamation suit in Bay County, Florida, over a November 11, 2021 segment of The Lead With Jake Tapper.

His legal team claimed CNN "destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans" during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Tapper's segment – and a report from network correspondent Alex Marquardt – suggested Young and his security consulting company Nemex Enterprises Inc. charged "exorbitant fees" to help Afghan women flee the country.