Locked out of a used Android phone because of Google account — what are my options?

Hi everyone, I’m hoping to get some advice from people who are more experienced with Android.

I recently bought a used Android phone that was already factory reset. It powered on normally, but during setup it asked me to sign in with a Google account that was previously synced to the device. Unfortunately, I don’t know that account, and the seller is no longer reachable.

Now I’m stuck at the verification screen and can’t finish setting up the phone, even though it works and isn’t physically damaged.

I completely understand why this protection exists — it’s great for preventing theft — but in this case, it’s blocking a legitimate second-hand user.

I’ve already tried:

Google account recovery (but I don’t know the original email)

Looking for proof of purchase (not available)

Resetting the phone again (it still asks for the same account)

So I wanted to ask:

Is there any official or realistic way to resolve this?

Has anyone successfully dealt with this kind of situation before?

Or is the phone basically unusable without the original Google account?

I’m not looking to do anything illegal — I just want to know whether this device can still be used or if it’s essentially locked forever.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can share advice or experience.