Young sued the network in 2021 after it ran a segment on contractors profiting off refugees trying to flee Afghanistan in the United States’s 2021 withdrawal, which included his business. He argued that CNN harmed his business by including him in the segment.

On Friday, the jury, after eight hours of deliberation, awarded Young $4 million in lost business damages and $1 million in personal damages.

The jury is additionally set to decide Friday on any putative damages CNN must pay. The news outlet did not issue a statement on the matter, saying it would wait until the damages phase of the trial was complete before commenting on the result.

The segment in question highlights a California-based Afghan American man who found people on Facebook offering to shepherd his family in Afghanistan to safety for $100,000, with a headline on the screen reading “Afghans trying to flee Taliban face black markets, exorbitant fees, no guarantee of safety or success.” 

The segment also featured Young, who, according to the CNN story, posted messages on LinkedIn offering evacuations from Kabul to Pakistan for $75,000 a vehicle or $14,500-per-person flights to the United Arab Emirates.

CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper aired the segment, which was narrated by the network’s chief national security correspondent, Alex Marquardt. 

The segment did include a response from Young who said his services are for Afghans who have sponsors that can bear the costs of his services. According to Young, he was notified that CNN would air a segment featuring him two hours beforehand. He additionally said he warned CNN the segment was defamatory.

During the trial, jurors witnessed depositions from Tapper and messages between Marquardt and Young before the segment ran.