Apple ID completely taken over by thieves, Apple can't help.

Hi. My husband's phone got stolen. The first thing the thief did was change his password. When the notification email came through to his email account (which they had access to) saying "your password has been changed, if this isn't you please change your passowrd now", they deleted that email into the trash. So hours went by before he realized they had done anything. Then, to take it further, they created a 28 digit verification code, which he had never done because he never heard of it. Neither had I, and I think Apple needs to do a better job of prompting people to do this once they get their new phones. Apparently, once this new code is created, it is impossible to break into your account, or so we hear from Apple. So basically, it seems the thieves now have complete possession of his Apple Id. All photos, music, everything is gone. Not to mention the thousands of dollars they stole from our bank accounts and credit cards. The most heartbreaking thing is the photos though.

He has since got a new phone with the same number, still has access to the same email account though with a new password. But the "change my password" does not work despite the fact it says it's "sending a notification to your phone." He gets no notifications, no emails.

Is there anything we can do to recover the account at this point? Apple support has been no help and basically says, "it's lost, there is nothing we can do" because of this 28 digit code they created. I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that we pay hundreds of dollars for these phones, Apple is a smart, highly advanced technology company, and they have not figured out a way to recover a stolen account and get it back to its original, rightful owner?

I know this is more of a rant, but I am still hoping this has happened to someone else and they have figured out a work around. Anyone?