School Picture Company Gets Caught Up in Epstein Fallout
School picture day has unexpectedly become entangled in the Jeffrey Epstein fallout, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lifetouch, a 90-year-old company that handles student portraits for thousands of U.S. schools, is facing a fast-moving boycott after online investigators linked it—indirectly—to Epstein through the private equity history of its parent company.
The connection stems from Lifetouch’s parent, Shutterfly, which was acquired in 2019 by funds managed by Apollo Global Management. At the time, Apollo’s CEO was Leon Black, one of Epstein’s major financial clients. Black resigned from Apollo in 2021 after it was revealed he had paid Epstein $158 million for tax and estate work between 2012 and 2017. An independent review found no evidence that Black was involved in Epstein’s crimes.
Lifetouch does not appear in the newly released Epstein files, and the company says neither Apollo nor Black ever had access to student photos. “We have never shared student images with any third party, including Apollo,” CEO Ken Murphy told parents. Apollo similarly confirmed that aside from Black, no one there had a business or personal relationship with Epstein.
Despite this, social media posts claiming Lifetouch is connected to a global trafficking network have gone viral, leading at least 10 school districts to cancel or pause contracts with the photography company, NBC News reports. Other districts, finding no evidence of wrongdoing, plan to proceed with picture day as scheduled. Lifetouch takes millions of student photos annually, the Associated Press reports.
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