Can you unlock an iPhone 5 with a bad ESN?

I'm shopping for an iPhone 5 to use because I'm a new assistant and I would like a business phone. I also would like a good phone with an even better deal and found cheaper iPhones on eBay but they have bad ESNs. I know what one is but can I unlock the phone and get rid of that problem?

No, it has a bad esn and its useless as a phone.

New York is right, but here is a bit more information for you and others who are reading:
A bad ESN is a phone registered stolen or lost into a nationwide data base by a wireless carrier.
Carriers share bad ESN data.So, this phone can't be used on a network.
It could be used only as a music player using files loaded from a pc or from Wi-Fi.
SO,
Don't buy it. Its value is significantly diminished