School Picture Company Gets Caught Up in Epstein Fallout

School picture day just got swept into the Jeffrey Epstein fallout, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lifetouch, the 90-year-old company that shoots student portraits for thousands of US schools, is facing a fast-moving boycott after online sleuths linked it—indirectly—to Epstein through its parent company's former private equity owner. The connection: Lifetouch's parent, Shutterfly, was bought in 2019 by funds managed by Apollo Global Management, where Leon Black, one of Epstein's major financial clients, was then CEO. Black left Apollo in 2021 after it was revealed that he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate work between 2012 and 2017; an outside review found no evidence he was involved in Epstein's crimes.

There's no mention of Lifetouch in the newly released Epstein files, and the company says neither Apollo (which did not acquire Shutterfly until after Epstein's death) nor Black ever had access to its photos. "We have never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo," CEO Ken Murphy told parents. Apollo likewise says no one there, aside from Black, had a business or personal relationship with Epstein. Still, social media posts alleging Lifetouch is tied to a global trafficking ring have racked up millions of views, prompting at least 10 districts to cancel or pause contracts with the photography company, NBC News reports. Other districts have concluded no wrongdoing took place, and have no plans to change their picture day plans. Lifetouch takes millions of student photos per year, the AP reports.