Not likely.

This was people who wanted the "status symbol" of a blue checkmark and were willing to pay for it.

The way Twitter accounts are sold to a third party is by the creator, typically. And there are people who made a living by larping as MAGA and BLM and Vote Blue No Matter Who, and gained enough followers they could sell the accounts to astroturfers, so, in some sense, what you're suggesting is possible, but not in the way you laid it out.

For starters, if an account is stolen, there are ways to make that fact known even if it requires posting on multiple other social media platforms.

There are also phone number and email verifications needed to take over an account and the buyer typically has to work with original owner to update that info, so hard to take dormant accounts for that reason.

In this case, the people were paying to boost their own accounts because they could use the artificial status to impress gullible people and boost their brand in the process.

Not likely.

This was people who wanted the "status symbol" of a blue checkmark and were willing to pay for it.

The way Twitter accounts are sold to a third party is by the creator, typically. And there are people who made a living by larping as MAGA and BLM and Vote Blue No Matter Who, and gained enough followers they could sell the accounts to astroturfers, so, in some sense, what you're suggesting is possible, but not in the way you laid it out.

For starters, if an account is stolen, there are ways to make that fact known even if it requires posting on multiple other social media platforms.

In this case, the people were paying to boost their own accounts because they could use the artificial status to impress gullible people and boost their brand in the process.