Bought a 15 Pro Max, eSIM locked

This person advised me the phone was unlocked when we met for the sale. I got the phone home, took it out of its original box, the eSIM was locked. Finally after a dozen calls to Verizon, found out she still owes ALOT on the phone. She bought it new for her daughter but she only likes Androids….she had it on a prepaid account, ended up cancelling her account after 2 months and left that balance owed on the phone. The phone is brand new out of the box. Verizon says balance has to be paid by somebody before eSIM can be unlocked. I’m not a Verizon customer, I have Spectrum. Please somebody tell me what can I do? Thank you.