MALAKOFF, Texas — Some faculty districts within the U.S. dropped plans for sophistication photos after widespread social media posts linked a billionaire with ties to Jeffrey Epstein to the pictures large Lifetouch, which on Friday known as the claims “utterly false.”
The disruption to highschool image plans in Texas and elsewhere started after on-line posts linked Lifetouch, which images tens of millions of scholars every year, to the funding fund supervisor Apollo World Administration. Apollo’s former CEO is billionaire investor Leon Black, who met repeatedly with Epstein and was suggested by Epstein on monetary issues.
Black led the corporate in 2019, when funds managed by Apollo purchased Lifetouch’s mum or dad firm, Shutterfly. The $2.7 billion deal closed in September 2019 — a month after Epstein’s loss of life by suicide behind bars as he awaited trial over allegations from federal prosecutors that he sexually abused and trafficked dozens of women.
Each Lifetouch and Apollo famous that timeline in statements Friday, two days after Lifetouch CEO Ken Murphy mentioned in an Instagram submit that neither Black nor any of Apollo’s administrators or buyers ever had any entry to Lifetouch pictures.
“No Lifetouch executives have ever had any relationship or contact with Epstein and we have now by no means shared pupil pictures with any third social gathering, together with Apollo,” Lifetouch mentioned in its assertion Friday. “Apollo and its funds additionally haven’t any function in Lifetouch’s day by day operations and haven’t any entry to pupil pictures.”
The canceled faculty photos are one other ripple impact over the discharge of tens of millions of information from the Epstein investigation, together with paperwork displaying Epstein’s common contacts with CEOs, journalists, scientists and outstanding politicians lengthy after a 2008 conviction on intercourse crimes fees.
Within the small Texas city of Malakoff, the native faculty district canceled a pupil image day after a number of mother and father advised the district they weren’t comfy with Lifetouch photographing their youngsters, spokesperson Katherine Smith mentioned in an announcement e-mailed Friday. A number of different colleges and districts in Texas additionally canceled or modified plans, in addition to a constitution faculty in Arizona, based on Fb bulletins posted by the colleges.
“We determined our college students and households could be finest served by retaining all of our photos in-house for the remainder of this yr, and we’re taking a look at all of our choices for the 2026-2027 faculty yr,” Smith mentioned.
Mother and father involved about Lifetouch included MaKallie Gann, whose youngsters attend colleges in Howe, about 60 miles north of Dallas. She mentioned she was apprehensive about how a lot data Lifetouch collects on college students.
“Everytime you order the photographs, it has their title. It has the age, in fact. It has their grade, their trainer, the college that they’re in,” she mentioned.
No proof of Epstein or anybody in his orbit seeing Lifetouch pictures has emerged from information organizations’ assessment of 1000’s of paperwork launched this month by the U.S. Division of Justice, although there are at the least 1.7 million information.
The assessment exhibits Black’s title appeared 8,200 occasions, although that determine probably consists of some duplicate information. Black stepped down as Apollo’s CEO in March 2021, saying he needed to deal with his household, well being, and “many different pursuits.”
That was two months after a committee of the corporate’s board issued a report concluding that Epstein had suggested Black personally on property planning, tax points, charitable giving and working his “household workplace,” however supplied no companies to Apollo or invested in no Apollo funds.
The report additionally mentioned the assessment — which Black requested — discovered “no proof” that he was concerned with Epstein’s alleged legal actions “in any manner” or “at any time.” ___
Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. Additionally contributing was Related Press author Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota.
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