ATLANTA — The former Chief Operating Officer of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta pled guilty to federal theft charges after being accused of “pilfering” $600,000 from the museum.
Channel 2 Action News reported when former museum COO Brady Lum was accused of doctoring invoices and approving transactions for personal purchases in April.
After the accusations surfaced in February, Lum resigned.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced he’d entered a guilty plea for the federal charge of theft concerning programs that receive federal funds.
U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg said Lum bought a variety of luxury items through the funds he admitted to taking during his tenure.
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“Over several years, Lum deceptively plundered the southeast’s premier museum of visual art, embezzling more than half a million dollars,” U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said in a statement.
According to Hertzberg, Lum used the money to buy luxury guitars, music equipment, pay for personal music lessons and woodworking equipment, all by directing supplier invoices or by putting it on the High Museum’s corporate credit card reimbursement process.
Then, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Lum would cover his tracks by submitting altered invoices and using his position to approve expenses across different cost centers to avoid the transactions being noticed.
“Criminals like Lum who steal from institutions that receive taxpayer money to serve the public will face prison time for their thievery and be compelled to repay their ill-gotten gains,” Hertzberg said.
Now that Lum has pled guilty, USAO said he is scheduled for sentencing in early November. As part of the plea agreement, Lum will have to pay full restitution back to the museum.
The case is still under investigation by the FBI.
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