Brady Lum, the former chief operating officer of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, entered a not guilty plea Tuesday to a federal theft charge stemming from allegations that he misappropriated museum funds.
In February, news broke that Lum, 59, had resigned from his position in December after an internal investigation at the museum concluded that Lum was responsible for misappropirating $600,000 over several years. The institution referred the matter to federal prosecutors.
On Tuesday, during Lum’s arraignment in federal court in Atlanta, the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia accused Lum of manipulating financial records and authorizing illegitimate purchases for his personal benefit, including high-end musical instruments, private lessons, and workshop equipment.
“While entrusted to run the High Museum, Lum allegedly used the museum’s money as his personal slush fund and thereby betrayed one of Atlanta’s civic crown jewels,” US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement. “Our office will move with swift precision to prosecute individuals who abuse positions of power and trust to enrich themselves at the expense of non-profit institutions.”
According to the indictment, Lum masked his unauthorized expenditures by submitting “altered invoices,” then used his position to “exercise delegated expense approval authority” and then used “accounting adjustments to spread his expenses across different cost centers.”
During Tuesday’s hearing, Lum told the judge he is currently unemployed and was ordered to seek employment while on bond. Lum’s attorney Don Samuel told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Lum had nothing to say about the case at this time.
The charges follow an internal investigation launched by the Woodruff Arts Center, which oversees the High Museum along with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Alliance Theatre. In February, the organization’s board voted to refer the matter to federal prosecutors after the probe uncovered the alleged financial irregularities.
Woodruff Arts Center President and CEO Hala Moddelmog previously told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the organization believes Lum acted alone and that the alleged theft would not impact museum operations. The High Museum remains financially stable, she said.
Lum served as COO from January 2019 until his December 2025 resignation. According to the Woodruff Arts Center’s 2024 Form 990, he earned $312,374 that fiscal year, making him the organization’s fifth-highest-paid employee.
The High Museum, located on Atlanta’s Peachtree Street, is the largest visual arts museum in the Southeast.
A trial date has not yet been scheduled.
