High Museum of Art’s Former COO Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $600,000
Brady Lum, the former chief operating officer of Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, pleaded guilty on Monday to a federal theft charge for embezzling more than $600,000, according to the US Justice Department. Prosecutors said Lum, who served from 2019 until resigning amid a 2025 probe, doctored invoices, approved transactions for personal purchases, and used accounting adjustments to spread costs across different cost centers; the department said he received more than 700 reimbursements, most under $1,000. The Justice Department cited examples including more than $9,000 for a guitar and accessories disguised as museum-related expenses, as well as personal music lessons and woodworking equipment. Lum’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for November 2, and his plea agreement requires full restitution to the museum, which reported $30.8 million in revenues in fiscal year 2025 and holds a collection of more than 20,300 artworks.
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This story was covered in Restitution Reckonings and Museum Scandals Unravel