Millions of school photos are taken every year.
No one realized who was behind the company taking them.
Parents uncovered this sick link between Jeffrey Epstein and millions of school photos – one that has schools canceling picture day and launching investigations nationwide.
The Billionaire Who Paid Epstein A Fortune
Leon Black ran Apollo Global Management for three decades.
His private equity firm owns Shutterfly, which owns Lifetouch – the company that photographs 25 million American kids every year at 50,000 schools.
Between 2012 and 2017, Black paid Jeffrey Epstein $170 million for "tax and estate planning advice."
Epstein wasn't a licensed tax attorney or certified public accountant.
Senate investigators found Black paid amounts "vastly exceeding that paid to other attorneys and accountants" – most with no written contract.
Black never bothered adding up the $170 million because it was a "rounding error" against his $14.4 billion fortune.
Nobody casually hands a convicted pedophile $170 million for advice available from any Manhattan law firm.
Parents Started Connecting The Dots
The Department of Justice released over 3 million pages of Epstein documents on January 30, 2026.
Parents found Black's name throughout the files and traced the ownership from Apollo to Shutterfly to Lifetouch.
Their kids' photos are owned by a company controlled by Epstein's inner circle.
Texas mother MaKallie Gann watched her daughters get photographed by Lifetouch since pre-kindergarten.
"We're just basically having these big companies that have all of our children's information where we don't really know what they're doing with it."
Schools started shutting down picture day within days.
Prescott Valley Charter School in Arizona canceled picture days "out of an abundance of caution."
Clifton Public Schools in New Jersey launched an investigation.
A petition demanding investigations collected over 4,100 signatures in days.
Parents wanted their kids out of that system immediately.
Black's Epstein Timeline Gets Worse
Apollo bought Shutterfly for $2.7 billion in 2019.
Black ran Apollo as CEO until March 2021, when his payments to Epstein went public.
He stepped down claiming "health issues."
Apollo's own investigation found Black made Epstein director of his family foundation in 1997.
Epstein's name stayed on tax filings until 2012 – three years after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Black kept him on the paperwork, then started paying him tens of millions annually.
The Man Behind The Money
Epstein designed tax schemes that saved Black over $1 billion in estate taxes.
He coached Black through sexual abuse allegations, telling his assistant to "set up a separate email account" to hide communications "she currently is on an apollo server."
Four women accused Black of sexual assault connected to Epstein, including a 16-year-old with autism and Down syndrome in Epstein's townhouse.
Black paid a $62 million settlement to the U.S. Virgin Islands for immunity from criminal prosecution for his financial support of Epstein.
Black's company owns the database with 25 million American children's photos.
Lifetouch Says Trust Them
Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy called the parent panic "a sea of misinformation."
He insisted "no past or present member of Apollo's Board of Directors or Apollo's investors have ever had access to student images."
Murphy said Lifetouch "is not named in the Epstein files" and there are "no allegations that student photos were used in any illicit activities."
Parents see through it.
New Jersey mother Megan Montanez: "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 asked why schools didn't catch this earlier, since Black's payments became public in 2021.
"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."
Schools Chose Convenience Over Kids
Weber County School District in Utah investigated and kept using Lifetouch, deciding Black's connection was "far removed" from daily operations.
Other districts promised to "review" the situation and reminded parents they can opt out of picture day.
Most parents never knew they needed to opt out until now.
For decades, picture day was routine.
A company linked to Epstein's inner circle has been collecting children's photos and storing them in databases controlled by Apollo Global Management.
The corporate assurances that Apollo has no "operational role" mean nothing when the man who ran Apollo for 30 years paid Epstein $170 million for "advice" that included coaching him through sexual abuse allegations.
Parents trusted the system, and the system handed their kids' photos to people connected to the worst predator in modern American history.
Sources:
- Alexis Lapp, "Parents Call For Investigation Into School 'Picture Day' Company After Investor Found In Epstein Files," Daily Caller, February 13, 2026.
- Senate Finance Committee, "Wyden Unveils Ongoing Investigation Into Private Equity Billionaire Leon Black's Tax Planning and Financial Ties with Jeffrey Epstein," July 25, 2023.
- Senate Finance Committee, "Wyden Releases New Information on Financing of Jeffrey Epstein's operations by Billionaire Leon Black," March 12, 2025.
- Hugh Son, "Apollo Global CEO Leon Black paid sex predator Jeffrey Epstein $158 million for financial advice after conviction," CNBC, January 26, 2021.
- Erin Banco and Michael Verdon, "Billionaire Leon Black made a $158 million payment to Jeffrey Epstein. Senators want to know why," CNN Business, July 25, 2023.
- Peter Scamardo II, "Are Texas schools canceling picture day over Epstein scandal?," MySA, February 13, 2026.
- "School Picture Days Canceled, Investigations Launched After Rumors Link Popular Photo Company To Epstein," HuffPost, February 12, 2026.
- "Texas parents shocked by Lifetouch's Epstein-linked billionaire ties," Houston Chronicle, February 10, 2026.
- Ken Murphy, "Public Statement from Ken Murphy, Lifetouch Group CEO, on recent rumors around student privacy," Lifetouch, February 11, 2026.