activation lock with a phantom email/icloud account on iphone - how do you unlock it to activate for a new user - do not need data in iphone

It sounds like they did not actually remove the activation lock before turning it in. You can check here: https://www.icloud.com/activationlock/

If they did, and checking on that page shows that it is not locked, restore iOS using iTunes and try again.

Previous User logged out of iCloud and find my iphone before turning this iphone in to get redeployed.

Then there won't be any phantom e-mail.

Either it wasn't logout or logout the wrong device.

Previous user has to do it again until Find My iPhone can be switch off, no one else can help, not even Apple.