High Museum COO Pleads Not Guilty To $600K Theft Charges

A former senior executive at Atlanta's High Museum of Art is now facing a federal theft charge that has drawn scrutiny to the museum's internal controls. Brady Lum, who served as chief operating officer from January 2019 until his resignation in December 2025, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in federal court in Atlanta.

According to prosecutors, Lum misappropriated $600,000 from the museum over several years. The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia says he manipulated financial records, submitted altered invoices, and used delegated expense approval authority to authorize purchases that benefited him personally. Those alleged expenditures included high-end musical instruments, private lessons, and workshop equipment.

The case emerged after an internal investigation by the Woodruff Arts Center, which oversees the High Museum as well as 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 alleged financial irregularities. Woodruff Arts Center president and CEO Hala Moddelmog has said the organization believes Lum acted alone and that the alleged theft will not affect museum operations. She also said the High Museum remains financially stable.

At Tuesday's arraignment, Lum told the judge he is unemployed and was ordered to seek employment while on bond. His attorney, Don Samuel, said Lum had no comment at this time. A trial date has not yet been scheduled.

The High Museum, located on Peachtree Street, is the largest visual arts museum in the Southeast. The allegations now place a spotlight on the quiet but consequential question of nonprofit governance: how institutions built on public trust respond when that trust is said to have been breached from within.

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