ATLANTA — Brady Lum, 59, the former chief operating officer of the High Museum of Art, pleaded guilty Monday to a federal charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
“Over several years, Lum deceptively plundered the Southeast’s premier museum of visual art, embezzling more than half a million dollars,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a news release. “Criminals like Lum who steal from institutions that receive taxpayer money to serve the public will face prison time for their thievery and be compelled to repay their ill-gotten gains.”
Lum was the museum’s COO from Jan. 2, 2019, until his resignation on Dec. 9, 2025. He was responsible for controlling the museum’s operational and financial activities.
He spent museum money on non-business items for himself, including guitars, sound equipment, personal music lessons and woodworking equipment. He executed the scheme using supplier invoicing and the High Museum corporate credit card and reimbursement process.
“Lum concealed the nature of his transactions in several ways, including by submitting altered invoices, using his position to exercise delegated expense approval authority and using accounting adjustments to spread his expenses across different cost centers so that they would not be readily identified,” the news release said.
