I handed my account in 2017 and by then I used to have good reputation here. Then he started paid posting of some crypto based scams and something similar to that. Although I have edited those posts but still the other users opinion will still be there.
You can check difference in posts by the end of 2017 and before that.
Just by saying that the "account changed hands" in that year would just make your case even difficult. Surprised that there isn't tag yet to you that "the account changed hands" even though that mostly applies to hacked accounts, but it is obvious that it isn't you that was using the account to post that whatever scam post that was.
Only way for you out of this would be just like what others mentioned above. Contribute and see where it goes. It is not gonna be a fast solution for sure.