Activation lock

Activation lock, so I gave my old iPad mini 64 to an older man on a fixed income who needed a pad to read, it updated, I believe it went from a four digit pass to a six during the update, he punched the code in so many times wrong that it locked him out, another friend who helped him set it up put all the information inside the ipad on the notepad (inside of locked iPad) Apple wanted some form of proof that I used to own it, I took it out of my iMac already however I recently found the box, I bought it at Sam’s Club and they tried to look up the receipt but they could not go back about the last two months that I needed them to find it, so the guy can’t remember his iCloud ID, his password or nothing. We had to get him a different iPad, the old one was given back to me, cannot unlock it. I found a program and downloaded it called iMyFone LockWiper which said free but then wanted $60 to re-write the bios. A.I did not pay them B. it shows me that it’s possible to go ahead and erase this and start over, I just feel like I can’t get any cooperation I’m not a criminal I really bought this thing and if there was some real brain work going on here someone could look at my Apple ID and Apple would realize that this pad used to be associated with my ID, it’s just sort of feels like it’s a way to sell another iPad, I Do appreciate the security of it all but wipe in an iPad clean and start over, no one gets any information that way so there’s no security issue now it’s more an issue of policing iPads, if I buy a new car & it got stolen I don’t call GM, I call the police, GM doesn’t police car thefts although they have put some good locks in place like a chip in the key, etc. I do appreciate the security of it all but, no the common sense aspect of it.