If you're to believe the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, 38-year-old Sheng Hui Chen is a brave, shit-talking man. In fact, they claim, he pretty much made a lifestyle of it.

Not only did Chen allegedly extort mom-and-pop Chinese immigrants by saying he was a member of a feared gang, United Bamboo, which has yet to be verified, but he recruited scantily clad women for a hostess club that he eventually ran out of an extorted rental home, investigators say.

But that's not what got Chen in the most hot water:

Authorities say that after he vacated the Diamond Bar home he used for the hostess venue the residents found an illegal AK-47 assault rifle.

But wait, there's more:

After visiting Chen's Del Prado Drive residence in Hacienda Heights last month, warrant in-hand, investigators say they found meth within reach of his children, and 15 mistreated dogs.

And so Chen was charged with (according to a sheriff's statement):

… Felony unlawful possession of an assault weapon, felony impersonation of another for representing himself as someone else when he was first contacted at the house by deputies, felony animal cruelty, felony possession of methamphetamine, and two counts of misdemeanor child endangerment.

His wife, 31-year-old Yulan Hu, was hit with charges of “animal cruelty, possession of methamphetamine, and two counts of child endangerment, all misdemeanors.”

The kids, 8 and 9, were taken into protective custody.

The upshot? The duo, from China, is in the U.S. on tourist visas. Welcome to Disneyland.

[@dennisjromero/djromero@laweekly.com]

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.