Struggling plus-size apparel retailer Charming Shoppes tried to strong-arm more than a dozen of its shareholders in an usually aggressive effort to thwart two hedge funds looking to shake up its board. The owner of Lane Bryant subpoenaed 17 of its investors in recent weeks in an attempt to flush out whether they were in talks with Crescendo Partners and Myca Partners, two hedge funds that are seeking three seats on the company's board, sources told The Post. The subpoenas, which were squashed by the courts subsequently, were part of a fierce legal attack that Charming Shoppes is waging against the hedge funds ahead of its May 8 annual shareholder meeting. A Charming Shoppes spokeswoman wasn't immediately able to comment on the subpoenas. The hedge funds, complaining that executives have been overpaid amid lackluster performance, said in January they want the company to refocus its strategy, sell non-core assets, slow store expansion and buy back shares.