Former High Museum COO Gets One-Year Federal Sentence

Brady Lum, 60, was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release after his prison term. U.S. District Judge Michael L. Brown imposed the sentence in federal court in Atlanta. Lum repaid the museum $607,688.18 and paid about $500,000 toward legal and investigative expenses before sentencing.

Prosecutors said the theft began in September 2019, less than nine months after Lum joined the museum, and continued until the fraud was discovered in November 2025. He resigned on December 9, 2025. His tenure as COO began on January 2, 2019.

The personal expenses included expensive guitars and music equipment, private lessons and woodworking tools. Prosecutors said Lum used museum credit cards and his administrative authority, including approving his own spending, to make the purchases. Altered invoices and accounting changes that spread charges among departmental cost centers helped conceal them.

U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said repayment did not remove the need for prison time, describing the conduct as a breach of trust. FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham said Lum had manipulated internal procedures to steal the money. Federal officials have not specified when or where Lum must report to prison.