While the group has established themselves as one of the most prominent acts to have come out of Australia, the group has also been plagued by run-ins with the law. In July 2019, at a time when violent
street gangs had been active in western Sydney,
Strike Force Raptor, a branch of
NSW Police focused on
organised crime, heard that some of Onefour's lyrics had the potential to incite acts of violence by these gangs. Ramos (Celly) was sentenced to ten years' jail with a non-parole period of six, for having hit a man in the head with a hammer repeatedly. However, after appealing his charges, his sentence was reduced to eight years' jail with a non-parole period of four years and nine months, after the appeal judge heard that he was remorseful, and had rehabilitated. He had had a tough childhood which had led to substance abuse as well as ongoing
depression. He was released on 7 June 2023. In 2022, OneFour distanced itself from the NF14 gang. While police remain concerned about their use of referencing violence in their lyrics, with Detective Inspector Weinstein saying "It is pretty well entrenched in drill music that unless you’ve done that crime or you are in that gang, you cannot sing about that actual activity", they say that their lyrics are honest and they are just talking about their lives, not inciting violence. Professor Jioji Ravulo, chair of social work and policy studies at the
University of Sydney, whose research concentrates on young people in the
criminal justice system, says that "music is therapeutic for disenfranchised young people" and does not in itself provoke crime. == Murder plot==