The former chief operating officer of the High Museum of Art pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a single federal theft charge after being accused by the organization’s leaders of misappropriating around $600,000.
Brady Lum, 59, appeared in the federal trial court in Atlanta and was arraigned before a magistrate judge. He waived indictment and was granted a $10,000 unsecured bond.
Lum, who resigned in December amid an investigation of the Midtown museum’s finances, has nothing to say about the criminal case at this time, his attorney, Don Samuel, told reporters outside the courtroom.
Samuel said Lum is charged with a single count of theft from an entity that receives federal funds.
Federal prosecutors said Lum doctored invoices and approved transactions for personal purchases.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg. “Our office will move with swift precision to prosecute individuals who abuse positions of power and trust to enrich themselves at the expense of nonprofit institutions.”
Prosecutors said Lum was the museum’s COO from January 2019 until his resignation. They said he used the museum’s money in part to buy luxury guitars and other music equipment, personal music lessons and woodworking equipment.
“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,” Hertzberg’s office said in a press release.
As part of Lum’s bond conditions, he cannot travel outside Georgia without prior approval and must surrender his passport. He cannot possess any weapons or have any contact with anyone who could be a victim or a witness in the case.
Samuel told U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Bly that Lum has no criminal history.
In the hearing, Lum told the judge he is currently unemployed. The judge said Lum must seek employment while on bond.
Lum’s next court appearance has yet to be scheduled.
In February, the board of the Woodruff Arts Center voted to refer the investigation into the High Museum’s finances and Lum’s resignation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Woodruff’s CEO and President Hala Moddelmog told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution at the time that Lum allegedly misappropriated about $600,000 over a period of three to four years and is believed to have acted alone.
The alleged theft will not impact any of the museum’s or Woodruff’s operations, Moddelmog said.
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