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One of the nation’s largest school photography companies is facing canceled photo shoots and district-wide investigations amid unsubstantiated online rumors suggesting that children’s photos could have been accessed by a person named in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Several school districts announced this week that they have launched investigations into the popular company Lifetouch due to its former, indirect ownership by billionaire businessman Leon Black, who was an associate and friend of the late child sex offender.
“At this time, no evidence has been presented indicating misconduct involving Lifetouch’s operations within our schools or any compromise of student information. Nevertheless, we believe it is appropriate to review the matter carefully and transparently,” Clifton Public Schools, one of New Jersey’s largest school districts, wrote in a letter to parents on Wednesday.
Lifetouch has denied any wrongdoing.
Guillermo Spelucin via Getty Images
A charter school in Arizona also told parents Tuesday that it was canceling its picture days scheduled for later this week “out of an abundance of caution.”
“While we do not have any information indicating a direct impact on our school or our students, our highest responsibility is always the safety, security, and trust of our families,” the Prescott Valley Charter School said in an announcement to parents.
In California, the Alisal Union School District in Salinas called the rumors “disturbing” and an issue that “deserves immediate attention” in a letter acknowledging parents’ concerns and questions on Wednesday.
“The District takes parents’ concerns very seriously and we stand ready to address questions and receive comments from parents, about this and any other issue,” wrote the district’s superintendent.
The rumors narrow in on Black, who until 2021 served as CEO and chairman of Apollo Global Management. The private equity firm owns Lifetouch through its 2019 purchase of the company Shutterfly, which purchased Lifetouch in 2018. The deal to acquire Lifetouch didn’t officially close until September 2019, however, which was a month after Epstein’s death.
Black resigned as Apollo’s CEO after an investigation revealed that he had transferred millions of dollars to Epstein between 2012 and 2017 for what were described as financial services. Black has also faced sexual assault allegations and lawsuits related to Epstein, though he has not been criminally charged and has denied wrongdoing.
Bloomberg via Getty Images
Black’s past link to Lifetouch has led people to raise concerns online, without supporting evidence, that he may have consequently benefited from inappropriate access to Lifetouch’s photos. Some have also accused Lifetouch of being nefariously listed in the Epstein files. Though the company’s name does appear in the files, it’s in a 2019 bank statement that belonged to a person involved in the Epstein death investigation.
Lifetouch, addressing parents’ concerns in a statement this week, said Black never had access to student images and affirmed that it is committed to safeguarding every student’s privacy while following all applicable federal, state and local data privacy laws. A company spokesperson repeated that the “claims are completely false” when reached for comment Thursday.
“When Lifetouch photographers take your student’s picture, that image is safeguarded for families and schools, only, with no exceptions,” said the spokesperson.
In a separate statement posted online, Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy acknowledged Black’s former ties to Apollo Global Management but stressed that “no past or present member of Apollo’s Board of Directors or Apollo’s investors have ever had access to student images, for any purpose.”
Student photos are only shared for the purposes of school records and for their purchase by parents or guardians. Lifetouch also does not, and has never, provided images to any third party, he said, while noting the company’s compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
“Additionally, as part of our decades long relationship with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Lifetouch prints SmileSafe cards free of charge for each student we photograph that families can use with law enforcement if a child goes missing,” the company said.
Megan Montanez, who said her daughter had her photograph taken by Lifetouch with the Clifton School District, told HuffPost Thursday that she remains unconvinced that proper safeguards are in place to protect all children.
“It’s not a stretch to assume that just because you don’t have a direct role in something that you don’t have access to other functions, especially as someone in a leadership position,” she said in an online message. “I think we as parents aren’t angry enough.”
Montanez said she’d like to see schools use local photographers and for school officials to be more transparent about how they select the companies they hire. If Lifetouch had been properly vetted, she said, they would have known earlier about Black’s connection with the company.
“The fact that this was public information in 2021 and in 2025 they used a company that had leadership with established financial ties with Epstein is gross oversight,” she said. “It’s our job as adults, [the] community, to come together and protect our kids, especially as more information comes out about all the things that the DOJ is attempting to cover up.”
Attempts to reach Black for comment were not immediately successful. A spokesperson for Apollo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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