Former High Museum executive gets 1-year sentence for embezzlement
A former High Museum of Art executive was sentenced to 12 months in prison in federal court Monday after admitting to stealing more than $600,000 from the museum.
Brady Lum, 60, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael Brown in Atlanta after the defense requested no prison time and prosecutors asked for 18 months.
“I stand ready to fully accept whatever decision you deem fair,” Lum said to the judge just before the sentence.
He pleaded guilty earlier this year to one felony theft charge after prosecutors say he embezzled the money over the course of multiple years as chief operating officer at the museum.
Lum used the museum’s credit cards to buy and stockpile professional recording and music equipment and high-end carpentry and woodworking tools. But none of the equipment was used or even resold for the money, Lum’s attorney, Don Samuel, wrote in the sentencing memo.
In court documents, Samuel said Lum’s theft was akin to gambling, “an addictive obsession,” and was not motivated by greed.
He asked the judge in court not to give any prison time and to “give full credit to who he has been and who he no doubt will be when he finishes his sentence,” citing Lum’s lifetime of good works before the crime.
“I violated the law and am guilty of my crimes,” Lum said to the judge, apologizing to his family, friends and former colleagues at the High Museum. He said he will “ensure my conduct and life going forward reflect my true nature.”
The judge said Lum’s wealth and position showed the “utter foolishness” of using the museum’s money to buy things for himself.
“It was thoughtful, repetitive, with plenty of time for someone to come to their senses,” Brown said.
The former executive has paid the museum all of the money back, plus the costs the museum incurred hiring lawyers to investigate the financial discrepancies.
“He is doing everything in his power to repair the harm he has done to his colleagues, his friends, and his family,” Samuel said in case filings. “He’s mortified. He’s sorry. He has accepted responsibility and then some.”
The High Museum on Peachtree Street in Midtown is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeast. It is a division under the Woodruff Arts Center, which also consists of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Alliance Theatre.
No one from the High Museum or the Woodruff Arts Center gave a victim impact statement in court Monday. A spokesperson for Woodruff said in an emailed statement they “respect the court’s decision and remain focused on fulfilling our mission, responsibly managing our resources, and connecting deeply with the audience we serve.”
Prosecutors asked for a sentence of 18 months in prison to “reflect the seriousness of his conduct.” His embezzlement took place across 485 fraudulent reimbursement requests over several years “in a concerted course of conduct,” prosecutor Nicholas Joy told the judge.
Brown did not require Lum to pay more restitution on top of what he already paid and waived his fine. He also ordered him to be on supervised release for one year after prison and waived the standard requirements. Lum was not taken into custody in court and will be allowed to self report to federal prison.
The judge said that despite his sympathy for Lum, the seriousness of the crime required prison time. If Lum had “given that money back before he knew the jig was up,” that would have changed things, Brown said.
“I would like to determine that no jail time is necessary,” Brown said. “But I just can’t get there given the amount of time and amount of money there was.”
Samuel declined to comment outside the courtroom.
Lum resigned in February amid an investigation into the organization’s finances. Woodruff’s CEO and president, Hala Moddelmog, told the AJC at the time that Lum had “abused his executive level position at the High to access the money and hide what he did for several years.”
Lum, also a former executive with Special Olympics International and the Coca-Cola Co., had letters from his wife, children and many friends and former co-workers attesting to his character. Family members and friends also attended the sentencing hearing and tearfully embraced each other and Lum’s family afterward.